


Treasures of the Heart

by Gilescandy



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Warehouse 13
Genre: Crossover, Gen, possible future relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-09
Updated: 2014-08-09
Packaged: 2018-02-12 10:06:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2105670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilescandy/pseuds/Gilescandy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Old friends sometimes fall out… big time.  When Giles and Artie find themselves on the same case again after nearly twenty years, can they put their pasts aside in order to save their futures?</p>
<p>Timelines: BtVS early season 3, WH13 early season 2</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. On the Case

**Author's Note:**

> This was started a couple years ago. Warehouse 13 is one of my favorite shows and the core group of characters reminded me so much of Buffy’s core four. I couldn’t help but think that Giles and Artie were so alike that, if they ever met, they’d hate each other’s guts. Lol. Also, we started it long before Anthony Head actually showed up on the show as the most badass villain ever!
> 
> Posted for Summer of Giles 2014.

Chapter 1 – On the Case

“California?” Myka asked, perusing the file Artie had handed her. 

“Sweet!” Pete high-fived Claudia as they both looked at his file. “Hopefully it’s an easy bag. Then we can ride some waves and catch some rays.” He made absurd surfing motions with his hands as Claudia laughed and started singing the Beach Boys’ Surfin’ USA.

“Enough, enough,” Artie said and the two quieted down as Myka stared at them and shook her head in disbelief. “There will be no surfing or sunbathing on this trip because we are all going.” He held a hand up to prevent both an excited outburst from Claudia and a bombardment of questions from Myka. The young redhead settled for bouncing in her seat while the older woman watched Artie with a confused frown. 

“Why?” Pete asked and threw his hands up in surrender when Artie scowled at him.

“Because,” Artie said, pulling another file out of his bag and handing it to Claudia, suppressing a grin as she all but ripped it from his hand in her excitement. “Because,” he repeated, “we won’t be looking for one Artifact, but two.” He pointed to a picture they each had in their file of a Harlequin-style mask and scepter. “This is a bifurcated Artifact. That means that these two items, when separate, are pretty much harmless, but get them together--”

“Mad wackiness ensues?” Claudia guessed, having managed to contain most of her excitement, but still in a good mood.

“Oh, no,” Artie said in a deadly serious tone, stopping Pete mid-laugh. “There is nothing ‘wacky’ about these Artifacts. Together, they cause horror and terror beyond the comprehension of most sane people.” He made eye contact with each of the three around the table to ensure he had their undivided attention. Satisfied that they grasped the seriousness of the situation, he continued with the briefing. “This mask and scepter once belonged to the Marquis de Sade. I trust everyone has heard of him,” he said, looking pointedly at Pete. When the agent sheepishly nodded his head, Artie continued. “Somehow, the artifacts became imbued with the Marquis’ unbalanced psyche, most notably the violence and sadism that shows up regularly in his literary works. We have to bag it quickly before this town,” he glanced down at his file, “Sunnydale, becomes hell on Earth.” He looked around the table once more. “This is probably one of the most dangerous retrievals we’ve had to date, which is why you,” he pointed at Claudia, “will be at my side, 24/7. Understand?” She nodded her head in wide-eyed seriousness. “Good,” he barked with satisfaction. “Here are your tickets. Our plane leaves in two hours. Go. Pack.”

The three scampered upstairs and he sat down at the table with a sigh, reaching for a doughnut Pete must have somehow missed. He looked up and froze, the sweet treat halfway to his mouth when he saw Leena standing in the doorway and giving him a disapproving look. He set the doughnut back on the plate with another, rather wistful, sigh. 

“Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?” Leena asked.

Artie’s eyes darted from her to the doughnut and back again, brow furrowed in confusion. 

“Claudia,” Leena said rather impatiently, and Artie’s eyes lit with comprehension. “Do you really think you should take her on such a dangerous mission?”

Artie rubbed his eyes under his glasses. “Probably not,” he admitted, “but after the fiasco at the Warehouse last week, I don’t feel any more comfortable leaving her here unsupervised.” He looked up in to Leena’s concerned gaze. “It’s not that I don’t trust her. I do. But things tend to go a little… screwy around her and I’ll feel much better if I’m there to take care of it.” He looked up the stairs where the three had disappeared, a small smile quirking the corner of his mouth. “And it’s not like she needs the Warehouse computers. She can do everything she does here from that laptop of hers.” Looking back at Leena, he found her staring at him with a calculating look and felt the heat rising up his neck. He cleared his throat and stood abruptly. “I should probably go pack, too,” the senior agent mumbled as he tried to skirt past her and up the stairs. 

“Artie,” she called and he flinched, waiting for the lecture. “Be careful,” was all she said. He looked back to see her still watching him with concern, but there was also a small smile softening her features. 

With a smile of his own he answered, “I always try to be,” and escaped to his room.

Leena continued to look up the stairs after he had disappeared from view, lost in thought. “Isn’t that interesting,” she said softly to herself as she shook her head and went to clear the breakfast dishes. 

++++++++

“We’ve got trouble,” Buffy announced as she blew through the double doors of the library with Xander hot on her heels. Her sudden and dramatic entrance drew a surprised ‘eep’ from Willow, who was parked in front of the library computer. 

Giles entered from his office, open book in one hand and glasses dangling from the other. “Trouble?” he asked with a frown, slipping his glasses back into place. “What kind of trouble?”

“Weird, freaky clown trouble!” Xander supplied emphatically. 

“Clowns?” the Watcher asked, turning back to Buffy, confusion written plainly on his face. 

“Well they did kinda look like clowns,” she affirmed. “But not exactly. More like those clowns kings used to have sit on their feet.”

Giles tilted his head slightly, at a complete loss.

“You mean jesters?” Willow asked, standing up to come join the other three.

“Yeah, Jesters,” the Slayer pointed at her with a smile. “Jesters in like black and white diamond checked shirts with poofy sleeves and tights and curly toed shoes with masks and those dorky hats with the bells on them. “ The tirade was accompanied by enthusiastic hand waving and nodding from Xander.

“How many jesters?” Giles asked.

“Two,” Buffy answered. “They were circling around this guy and girl and the guy and girl were acting like they didn’t know whether to fight or make out or what. We went in to break it up and the jester dudes went poof and the guy and girl collapsed all confused. It was all kinda wiggy.”

Her mentor listened, deep in thought. 

“Well?” Buffy asked impatiently.

“Hmm,” Giles snapped back into focus on her. “Oh, I have no idea,” he said and turned to Willow. “Would you get on your contraption and see if you can find any similar occurrences having happened recently? I’ve a couple of books I want to pull and check a few things.” Turning back to Buffy and Xander, he asked, “Will you be staying to help with the research?” They both whined a token protest as they made their way to the table where Willow was already furiously typing away. Giles smiled at their antics and smiled even more at Willow’s lack of antics. The girl…no, young woman, he corrected himself, they had all celebrated her eighteenth birthday last week…was so clever and intelligent, and so eager to help. He would be lost without her, he thought as he took the steps to the stacks in order to retrieve the books.

++++++++

Artie sighed as Claudia squirmed in her seat next to his yet again. She was absolutely bored out of her mind since the flight attendant had caught her surfing the net and confiscated her laptop until the flight landed. And her boredom was driving him bonkers. 

“Here!” he said, pulling a book from his bag at random and thrusting it in her face. “Read!” 

“What?” Claudia asked, taking the book reflexively. “Artie, I really don’t feel like…” she whined, stopping as she read the title of the book he had handed her. 

Artie looked back at her as she went quiet. He quickly went through a mental list of the books he had thrown in his bag and came to a conclusion just as she read the title aloud. “Sabrina Fair, a Woman of the World. A play by Samuel A. Taylor.” She shot him an inquisitive look. “Sabrina? Like that old Bogart movie? You trying to tell me something, Old Man?” she grinned at him. He lunged for the book but she held it out of his reach. “No, no, no!” the redhead laughed. “I wanna read it. You gave it to me, so I’m gonna read it!”

“Claudia, please,” he groaned, absolutely horrified. 

She saw how embarrassed he was and relented, a little. “It’s cool, Geezer. I liked the movie. Bogart was pretty hot for an old dude. It’ll kill some time. Thanks.”

Artie looked at her, debating whether or not to demand the book back anyway, but she seemed sincere. And it might keep her quiet. 

“Fine,” he huffed, settling back in to his seat. “Just, be still, for a while.”

She graced him with a dazzling smile and settled in to read. 

He sat in mortified contemplation. Why did he even bring that infernal book? He had completely forgotten about it. He had just grabbed a couple random paperbacks off his bookshelf to help him get to sleep in the hotel rooms. What kind of screwed up coincidence was it that he would grab that book and it would be the one he gave to her? He groaned again but missed the small smile from his neighbor as she became completely absorbed in the book. 

++++++++

“Got it!” Willow crowed triumphantly, startling Buffy from a daydream and causing Xander to jolt upright, surreptitiously wiping drool from his chin. 

“Harlequin demons,” Giles read over Willow’s shoulder, bracing one hand on the table and the other on the back of her chair so he could lean in to read the fine print of her book. “First noted durring the late 18th century in France. Observed to cause panic and hysteria, inducing mass occurrences of brutality and sadism. Known as ‘tricksters,’ they have been known to single out a victim, playing vicious pranks and often stealing from him everything he holds dear.” 

Willow looked up at him as he straightened, both obviously thinking hard.

“Ok. So how do I kill them?” Buffy asked in her normal blunt manner. If she could slay the demons fast enough, she might be able to salvage some Bronze time out of the night.

Giles shook his head. “The book doesn’t reference a way to kill them,” he said with a frown. “But now that we know what we are dealing with, we can narrow our search and try to find other references. “ 

Willow nodded and opened another tome. Xander and Buffy groaned in unison and unenthusiastically reached for books of their own. Giles frowned as he watched the two. They were not researchers, they were doers, and the inactivity was grating on them. Almost as much as Xander’s drooling on his books was grating on him. 

Making a show of looking at his watch, the librarian announced, “It’s late. Buffy, why don’t you and Xander do a quick patrol and then get some sleep? Hopefully, I will know more and we can tackle the problem anew tomorrow after you’ve rested.”

The two were up and out the door before he could change his mind, a quick, “Great idea! See you tomorrow!” from Buffy hanging in the air behind them. Giles shook his head and chuckled in amusement, turning back to the table to see Willow more sedately packing her things to leave. He felt a strange pang of disappointment. “Oh,” he said and she turned her large, inquisitive eyes to him. “I thought…that is, I had rather hoped…I mean, I didn’t mean…” he stuttered, whipping his glasses off to polish the lenses. He took a deep breath to collect himself and looked back up to see her watching him patiently and – hopefully? No, that was just his imagination. He shook his head, ‘Pull yourself together, old man,’ he mentally chastised.

Clearing his throat, he tried again. “That is to say, I had rather hoped you would stay and help me finish, Willow. The others were obviously bored and would have been a hindrance. I thought we could finish more quickly without the distraction.” He silently congratulated himself on getting it out without making it seem like more than it was. 

Willow graced him with a dazzling smile that made his heart beat a little faster. He ducked his head again as he felt the heat start to climb his neck. 

“That’s great,” Willow said with a relieved sigh. “I really want to get the bottom of this, but I didn’t want to impose myself on you if you would rather be alone.”

He took an involuntary step toward her, gently grasping her upper arm. “You are never an imposition, Willow,” he said earnestly. “You’re a delight.”

It was the redhead’s turn to blush and duck her head. Noticing his hand still on her arm, Giles snatched it back to his chest as if burned. Feeling the blush rise to the roots of his hair, he pointed vaguely in the direction of the stacks. 

“I’ll just, um…” he mumbled.

“Yeah. Okay,” Willow nodded as he retreated to the relative safety of the stacks.

++++++++

“So, Obi Wan, where is the Force leading us?” Claudia almost skipped along beside Artie in the early morning California sunshine. It was a beautiful day and she was on her first field assignment with Artie. She was in a good mood. 

Her good mood was apparently infectious because Artie laughed, causing her to grin even wider. “Well,” he said, “Myka and Pete are checking with the local police, so I thought we could walk around, get a feel for the town and see what we come up with.”

“Ooh,” she spun around, grabbing his arm, “we really are using the Force!” She laughed and skipped away to look in one of the shop windows. Artie just watched her with a slightly bemused grin. She was so vivacious, so full of joie de vive. After years of working at the Warehouse, either alone or with other agents, she was a breath of fresh air. She certainly made his life more interesting, and he found he liked that more than he would ever admit.

“Hey!” she called, pulling him from his thoughts. “This is a magic shop! Let’s go in and see what kind of vibes we can pick up.” 

++++++++

“Is the President in town?” the desk sergeant looked at the two Secret Service agents in confusion.

Pete glanced at Myka. “You know, that question’s really starting to get annoying.”

“No, he’s not,” Myka replied to the sergeant, choosing to ignore Pete. “We’re here on an unrelated matter. We were just wondering if anyone had reported anything unusual lately.”

“Anyone claiming they smelled fudge?” Pete quipped. “Ow.” He rubbed his ribs where Myka had just elbowed him.

“Ignore him. Jet lag.”

The sergeant looked from one to the other in bewilderment. “Nothing more unusual than… usual,” she finally said. “You got your drug gangs attacking people on an almost nightly basis and your grave robberies. We did have a young couple come in last night saying they were attacked by clowns.”

Myka and Pete stared at the woman. “That’s normal?” Myka asked.

“Welcome to Sunnydale,” the woman drawled, turning back to her work.

++++++++

“Nothing really unusual that I can think of,” the young woman behind the counter said. “We have our regular customers and the occasional tourists who like to look around, maybe buy a pretty trinket.”

Artie nodded as Claudia browsed the items on the shelves. “Have you seen these items?” Artie asked, showing the woman behind the counter the picture of the mask and scepter.

“No, sorry,” she said with a rueful shake of her head. “But maybe I can interest you in a nice protection charm for you daughter,” she said, pulling out a pretty, turquoise amulet carved in the shape of a howling wolf head and attached to a simple silver chain.

“So not his daughter,” Claudia drawled, coming up behind Artie. “Ooh, but that’s pretty.” 

She reached over his shoulder to take the charm so she could get a better look at it. His breath hitched slightly as her movement brought her front flush with his back for a moment and he spun around in hopes that the store clerk wouldn’t notice. 

“What do you think?” Claudia asked as she held the charm up around her throat. It was intricately carved and very pretty. The light green of the turquoise complemented the red of her hair and brought out a green hint in her rich brown eyes. She looked at Artie and smiled. He sighed, rolled his eyes, and reached for his wallet.


	2. Unexpected Reunion

Chapter 2 – Unexpected Reunion

Buffy blew into the library to find a weary looking Giles reading over an equally weary looking Willow’s shoulder. Both were munching on pizza provided by Xander, who appeared to be doing his best effort to shove an entire piece into his mouth while trying not to get any sauce on the book he was reading. 

“What do we got?” she asked, rubbing her hands together.

Giles sighed, chucking his half-eaten piece of pizza back into the box. “Nothing, I’m afraid.” He ran his hands through his unruly hair. It looked as if he had been doing that a lot.

“Okay,” Buffy said slowly, “so now what?”

“We mount up!” Xander mumbled around a mouthful of pizza.

Giles nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. “That does seem to be the logical next course of action.” He looked at Buffy. “We’ll start tonight in the alley where you saw the demons and go from there.” 

++++++++

“So, what do we have?” Artie asked as he, Claudia, Pete, and Myka sat down to an early dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Myka shook her head. “Not much,” she said. 

“Except that, apparently, freaky things happen here all the time and it’s considered normal,” Pete added.

“What kind of freakiness?” Claudia asked.

“Grave robbing freakiness,” Pete said in a spooky voice.

“No way,” she breathed, eyes wide.

“Way,” he said, eyes just as wide.

“Grave robbing?” Artie asked Myka, secretly amused by the byplay between the other two.

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “I guess a lot of the recently buried go missing here.”

“Morbid,” Claudia wrinkled her nose, and missed a worried, far-away look in Artie’s eyes. 

“Yeah, we thought so, too,” Pete said. “But here’s the really creepy thing. This couple filed a report last night that they were attacked by clowns.” He pulled a face and made zombie hands towards Claudia. She laughed and swatted his hands away.

“Clowns?” Artie asked, suddenly on the alert.

“Yeah. I hate clowns. They’re creepy. Don’t you think they’re creepy?”

Artie waved off Pete’s rant. “What kind of clowns?” he asked Myka. 

“Artie?” Claudia murmured, concerned at his suddenly serious demeanor. 

He absently put a hand on her forearm, still intent on Myka. “Did the report mention what kind of clowns? What did they look like?”

“Um,” Myka furrowed her brow in concentration. “The report said there were two clowns dressed in black and white.”

“Were they wearing masks?” he asked urgently. 

Both his female companion’s eyes lit with simultaneous comprehension. 

“You think they’re connected to the artifacts,” Claudia added thoughtfully. Myka nodded, also deep in thought.

“It’s our best lead,” Artie shrugged. “Did the report say where this attack happened?” 

Pete nodded. “Yeah, it was in an alley off the main drag.”

“Good,” the senior agent nodded. “We’ll check it out tonight.”

++++++++

“What are we looking for once we get there?” Buffy asked, twirling her stake in her fingers as the four walked along the darkened streets, alert to any danger.

“Anything that might give us a clue as to where they went. You said they just vanished?” Giles asked as he and Xander walked a step behind the girls, crossbow and axe held comfortably and ready to use at a moment’s notice.

“Poof,” Buffy affirmed with a nod.

Giles rolled his eyes as Willow giggled.

“I think perhaps it might be more efficient if we split into pairs,” the Watcher said as they neared the alley. “Buffy, why don’t you and Xander circle around, while Willow and I see if we can find any traces of mystical energy in the alley.” 

“Aye, aye captain,” Buffy tossed of a quick salute before she and Xander trotted down the street and around the corner.

Willow giggled as Giles just shook his head and sighed. He smiled and extended a hand toward the alley. “Shall we?” he asked, bowing slightly.

Willow grinned, dropping in to a shallow curtsey. “We shall,” she answered, taking his proffered elbow, and the two walked down the dark alleyway to see what they could find.

++++++++

“What are we looking for once we get there, Artie?” Myka asked as the four walked towards the alley mentioned in the police report.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Artie said. “Hopefully these ‘clowns’ left something behind when they vanished.”

“Hey, maybe we should split up. You know, cover more ground faster,” Pete chimed in.

“That’s not a bad idea, since we have no idea what to look for,” Artie said with a rueful grin. “You two circle around and meet us back in the alley,” he instructed Myka and Pete. “And be careful!”

“Yes, Dad,” Pete called over his shoulder as Myka laughed and punched him playfully on the arm. 

“For the record, I did not father any of you heathens!” he called to their retreating backs. 

“That’s what I keep telling people,” Claudia laughed. 

The senior agent smiled back at her and pulled his Tesla out of his bag. “Remember,” he said, handing her the Tesla and retrieving his pistol, “by my side at all times.” 

“Yes, Sir!” she said, snapping to playful attention.

“Don’t call me Sir,” he groaned. “It makes me feel…”

“Old?” she finished with a glint in her eye, laughing when he tried to glare at her.

“Devil child,” he muttered, fighting to keep the grin off his lips.

“Geezer,” she shot back, wrapping an arm around his elbow and facing the alley. “Shall we go find us an Artifact?”

“Let’s,” Artie replied, stepping forward with the young lady in tow. 

++++++++

They were almost to a bend in the alley when Willow pulled Giles to a sudden halt, causing him to stumble slightly. He looked at her and she pointed down the alley. 

“Someone’s there,” she whispered. 

Feeling a jolt of adrenaline, he brought the crossbow to the ready. Willow hugged herself to his back, stake in one hand and vial of holy water in the other, matching his stealthy approach to the point where the alley curved sharply. 

Giles turned back to her, silently mouthing, “One…two…three!” Together, they leapt around the corner.

++++++++

It was only because Artie and Claudia were walking slowly down the alley, alert to anything out of the ordinary, that he heard it. The slight scuff of a footstep followed by a whisper. He pulled Claudia to a stop, holding a finger up to his lips. She nodded, pointing to her ear and down to a bend in the alley. 

The two hugged the wall, creeping as silently as they could toward the bend. Artie took up a protective position in front of Claudia, holding the pistol in front of him at the ready and keeping her close behind him with the other arm. They crept to the bend and stopped, staying as silent as possible to listen. Silence was all they got back. Claudia was sure whoever was there had probably been tipped off to their presence by the pounding of her heart. 

Artie looked back at her and held up three fingers. He slowly curled each finger down in a silent count down. His companion scraped together all her courage. He made a fist, pointed ahead, and they both jumped around the corner, weapons at the ready. 

++++++++

“Arthur?” Giles asked in bewilderment, looking beyond the barrel of the gun pointed unwaveringly between his eyes to the man behind it.

“Rupert?” Artie responded in an equally bewildered tone, for the moment ignoring the crossbow aimed unerringly at his heart. “What are you doing here?” the Warehouse agent growled, menace creeping into his voice.

“I live here!” Giles rebuffed, a little taken aback by the hostile tone. “What the bloody hell are you doing here?”

“You live here? In this alley?” Artie spat, his tone growing increasingly snide and angry. “Somehow that seems completely appropriate.”

“Now see here!” Giles growled, his color starting to rise.

“Hey there!” Claudia chirped a little too cheerfully, extending a hand to the tall Englishman currently holding her boss at crossbow-point. “Claudia Donovan. Nice to meet you.”

Willow grasped the outstretched hand and pumped it vigorously. “Willow Rosenberg,” she said just as cheerfully, staring pointedly at the man holding her mentor and friend at gunpoint.

Claudia cleared her throat nervously and leaned in closer to Artie. “Artie?” she whispered softly, putting a hand on his outstretched arm. She frowned as she felt the muscles in his forearm were tensed rock solid and he was trembling slightly. “Artie?” she asked again, even more concern in her voice.

Willow put her hand on Giles’ shoulder. “Giles? They’re not demons… are they?” At that, Claudia shot her a baffled look then turned her attention back to Artie. 

“No,” Giles answered, having calmed himself from the unexpected insults. “In fact, unless something has drastically changed, they are among the good guys.”

“Okay,” Willow said quietly and calmly, as if she were talking to a skittish animal. “If they’re the good guys, then maybe you should put down the crossbow.” She gently put her hand on top of the crossbow to lower it in his grip. It did not move.

“Not until he lowers his weapon,” he replied, his voice deadly calm.

“Fat chance,” Artie ground out between clenched teeth.

“Artie,” Claudia said a little more sharply, trying to gain his attention. His eyes flicked to her momentarily then locked back on Giles. “Are they bad guys?” She could see some kind of conflict raging behind his eyes as he considered his answer. “Do I need to Tesla ‘em?”

“I will not allow you to electrocute Willow,” Giles growled, pulling Willow protectively behind him. 

“Don’t you DARE threaten Claudia!” Artie bellowed, pulling her behind him and stepping up so that the barrel of his pistol was less than an inch from Giles’ nose. 

“Whoa!” Willow and Claudia made simultaneous ‘time-out’ signals. 

“Come on, Artie. No one said anything about threatening me. In fact, if you get right down to it, I was the one doing the threatening. Artie! Please put the gun down!”

Willow, at the same time, was saying, “Easy guys. We’re all good guys here, right? Please don’t shoot him, Giles. We don’t slay people, remember? Please, Giles, put the crossbow down!” 

Claudia carefully came up behind Artie and put her hands on his shoulders. His whole body was trembling now. “Artie,” Claudia’s voice shook slightly and she could feel herself fighting tears. “Please Artie,” she whispered, circling her arms around him so she could speak softly in his ear. “No one’s gonna hurt me, Artie. Come on. You’re starting to scare me.” She had begun to tremble as well, and maybe that’s what finally got through to him, because the rage and hatred started to burn away to be replaced by concern and guilt for the distress he was causing her. Slowly, he lowered the pistol until it hung by his side and took a deep, shuddering breath. Claudia took the pistol from his hand and tucked it at the small of her back in the waistband of her jeans. She gave him a gentle squeeze and stepped back to his side, taking a deep, calming breath of her own.

Giles lowered his crossbow as Willow heaved an audible sigh of relief. The four of them just stared at each other for several moments. 

Finally, Willow cleared her throat. “So, um, you guys know each other?” she asked awkwardly. 

Artie snorted. “How could I forget the man who killed one of my agents in cold blood?”

“He WHAT?!?” Claudia squawked as Giles retorted with, “Amber was already dead, as you well know! I killed the demon who wore her face.”

Willow inserted herself between Giles and Artie before they could go at each other’s throats again. Claudia stood, torn between pulling Artie back and helping him.

“So let me get this straight,” Willow said pointedly, keeping each man at arm’s length. “You dusted a vamp,” Willow looked at Giles, “who had been one of your agents,” she looked at Artie. Giles nodded while Artie just glowered. 

“Wait a minute,” Claudia checked back into the conversation with a shake of her head. “Vamp? As in Vampire? Or vamp as in a femme fatale whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations?”

Willow, Giles and Artie turned to look at her, the first two with disbelief and the latter with amusement and something else she couldn’t quite identify.

“Vamps as in Vampires,” Artie said, backing away from Giles once more. “Yes, just accept it like you accept the fact that there are Artifacts.”

Claudia cocked her head and pursed her lips for a moment. “Okay,” she nodded.

“Artifacts?” Willow whispered to Giles but he shushed her, promising he would explain later.

“Giles!” All four heads turned toward Buffy’s voice as she and Xander came trotting in to view. “No sign of our, um, friends,” she reported to her Watcher with a sideways glance at the two Warehouse agents. Xander stood with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath after having to keep up with what Buffy called a jog. 

“Who’re your new friends?” the Slayer asked.

“Friends,” Giles replied shortly. “You encountered nothing?”

Buffy looked slightly hurt by his gruff reply, but then chalked it up to having eaten the last jelly doughnut again. 

“Naw,” she shook her head. “Just a couple flat-foot, men-in-black agent types. Told ‘em we were going to a play rehearsal.” 

Xander hefted his axe in explanation.

Artie and Claudia looked at each other. “Agents?” Claudia asked.

“Flat foot?” an annoyed voice behind Buffy and Xander said, causing them to spin around in surprise. 

“All new faces,” Giles murmured softly. “I’m sorry,” he sincerely directed to Artie.

“Comes with the job,” the other man huffed gruffly.

Myka came closer with a cautious smile. “I think some of us might have missed something. Anyone mind filling us in?”

“My thoughts exactly,” Buffy concurred.

Giles sighed. “Do you remember how I told you of my time working at the British Museum?” Willow nodded enthusiastically while the other two gave him blank stares. “Yes… Well, you see, the Council wasn’t the only organization to, uh, require my talents.”

“Council?” Pete spoke up.

“The Council of Watchers,” Artie answered his agent almost reflexively, but never took his eyes off Giles. “I suppose you could say they are another organization like the Warehouse. They try to protect the world from things that most people don’t know exist.”

“But that’s what we do,” Pete chuckled. “How many ‘organizations’ are out there?” 

Myka gave him a glare, then turned her attention back to Artie. “So he was your inside man at the museum. I can see how that would come in handy.”

Giles cleared his throat. “There has always been a Watcher on your Board of Regents. When my assignment placed me there, my skills were made available to Artie and his partners.”

“Partners,” Pete whispered to Myka, putting emphasis on the plural.

“You mean Amber?” Claudia spoke up cautiously.

Artie let out a growl, his rage again growing. “I loved her.”

“As did I!” Giles roared, stopping all comments before they came. “At least you didn’t have to learn what it felt like to pierce her heart. You didn’t stand there and watch those hazel eyes fade into nothing right in front of you.”

“That’s because I never would have!” Artie snarled back.

“Whoa! This guy took out an agent?” Pete interrupted, exacerbated. “Gezz, are all British people evil?” At Myka’s astonished gape he added, “Hey, look at our track record.”

“Shut up!” Buffy stepped up, eye-to-chest with Pete. “Giles is so not evil. He would never hurt anyone without a damn good reason.” She looked back, “He had one, right?”

Willow nodded sadly, “Vamp.”

“You Watchers, always having children fight your battles for you,” Artie spat. “God, how I hate you. Whenever I see a flash of copper hair in a crowd, I still look for her.”

Willow and Claudia stared at each other. Both copper heads picking up the light from the street lamp. A set of piercing green eyes going as wide as the soft brown ones. And both lunging forward to get between the men who looked as if they were about to rip each other limb from limb.

As everyone else moved to converge on the impending disaster, a bright light crashed into existence and threw all but the four already in the fray back down the alleyway. When their visions cleared, they saw two black and white clowns dancing around the small group. Giles and Artie immediately pulled the young women between them, standing back to back in order to defend against the new common enemy.

Though they had large, floppy hats on and masks covering half their faces, it was clear to a practiced eye that these were no clowns. The two demons were vicious and strong. They skipped around the trapped prey, staying on either side so as to leave no room for escape. The scepters the carried were more accurately short staffs, used expertly to strike at and tease the humans. Giles blocked as well as he could with his crossbow, having no chance in the onslaught to aim and fire, while Artie used his bag to defend himself and the girls behind him. Both men took any blows they could not block with their own bodies in their need to keep Willow and Claudia safe.

The demons were content to keep dancing around, inflicting slight but stinging wounds on their victims. They began to laugh with unnerving joy and chanted, switching off as they sing-songed the rhyming couplets.

“Two is one and one is two. Master chose who games with who.”

“A treasure from each we’ve come to take. In his hands we rest its fate.”

Giles blocked a harsh blow and swung out hard only to miss the fast moving demon. If not for Willow grabbing his belt, he would have stumbled. A wrong shift left Artie’s shoulder exposed, and he was caught with a punishing strike.

“All here now may game with thee. But any more, you’ll forfeit be.”

“Solve our puzzles and face the pain. Your treasures you may see again.”

Down the alleyway, Xander ran to help his friends, but bounced off a barely visible barrier and was violently thrown back several feet. Having seen this, Myka was just able to stop Pete from doing the same thing.

“It’s some kind of force field,” she shouted against the strange, building wind. “We need to find some way to short it out or something.”

Xander clamored painfully back to his feet. “We need to get in there and help them!”

Buffy scanned along the walls of the surrounding buildings. “You guys try to get through. I’ll see how high it goes. Maybe I can get over it.”

“That’s gotta be close to ten feet up,” Pete caught sight of the fire escape the Slayer was focused on. “I can give you a boost.”

“I got it,” Buffy smiled. “You just get through that shield.” With that, she jumped and easily landed both feet on the metal grate.

On the other side, the two men were tiring from the relentless onslaught. The girls stuck between them wanted desperately to help, but were trapped as much by their protectors as their attackers. 

Another peal of menacing laughter came from the demons, and they sang together. “But only one the victor may be. The other, death, a kindness seek.”

On the last word, there was another blinding flash, and the ally was again calm and silent.

Giles and Artie were both breathing hard and trying to regain their equilibrium when the others ran up.

“Giles,” Xander yelled wildly. “Where’s Willow?”

“And Claudia?” Pete was searching just as frantically.

The two men looked to were the girls had been moments earlier and saw only each other.


	3. Stakes of the Game

Chapter 3 – Stakes of the Game

“None of this makes sense,” Pete stated as he paced around the High School library. “You’re trying to tell me that those things were actual, real life demons, and that this little girl is some kind of superhero? And where is Claudia?”

Giles sighed. He could see the panic in the young man’s eyes. It was a panic he too was feeling and trying to keep a firm handle on. “The world is much older than anyone knows…” he began.

“Save it, Rupert,” Artie eyed the Watcher, hatred, and now fear, still boiling beneath his façade of calm. “Pete, not too long ago you suddenly learned that Artifacts exist. Tonight is the night you find out that vampires and demons do, too. Therefore, so does a Slayer to fight them. This young lady.”

“It just seems so strange,” Myka mused. “Why haven’t we had a run in of this kind before? I mean, we’ve seen some weird stuff, but demons? 

“Well,” Giles shrugged. “There is more contact between agencies than you would suspect. For instance, historically one Watcher is also called to sit on your Board of Regents, as I have said. It was considered that I might be the next to fill the role before I was sent to be Buffy’s Watcher. As it is, a friend of mine--”

“Valda,” Artie growled and Pete shifted uneasily.

“Yes. I do recall rumors of him running afoul of your agents recently.” He gave a slight smile. “Likely deserved it… He can be a bit of a prat. The point is, it became practice early on not the burden those agents on the front lines with this information.” At several annoyed looks, the Watcher held up his hands in defense. “I know it seems odd and unfair. But consider, how much more difficult would it be for you to concentrate on averting a world-threatening crisis if you knew in the back of your minds that, even if you succeeded, another group could fail at any moment? Many couldn’t handle the added stress in the past. Therefore, you at the Warehouse are only expected to do your best against the threats from Artifacts, and leave other threats to other capable groups, such as the demons to Buffy.” 

“But she looks so tiny.”

Pete pointed at his partner, “Yeah that. I mean, demons okay, but a little girl named Buffy fighting them?”

“We don’t have time for this,” Buffy groaned. She strode up to Pete, placed her hand in the center of his chest, and gave a firm push, sending the muscular man flying across the room to land in a stack of workout mats Giles hadn’t yet put away.

Myka did her best to hide a smirk as they watched the large agent flounder around while Artie grimaced, “Enough. I agree with Buffy, we need to get on with what’s important here. And that’s Claudia and Willow. To that end, much as it pains me to say this, you two will take whatever Rupert tells you about demons the same as you would take anything I say about an Artifact. Understood?”

Both his agents nodded seriously.

“Giles,” Xander said softly, reading the Watcher’s hidden worry. “What did happen to them? Are they…?”

“No!” Giles answered quickly. “Wherever they are, they are perfectly safe for now. It’s clear that this attack wasn’t against them. It was meant for us,” he glanced pointedly at Artie. “These… trickster demons have, for some reason, made the two of us their next target.”

“Please don’t tell me Will was just caught in the crossfire here,” Buffy frowned.

“I’m afraid it’s worse than that. And all my fault.”

Artie shook his head with a sour frown, “Not all.”

“Oh my God!” Xander suddenly cried. “Oz. We need to call him. He should know about Willow.”

“No wait,” Myka stopped him on the way to the phone. “I don’t think we can call anyone. It was something those things said...”

“Yes,” Giles agreed. “I’ve been trying to remember the rhyme, but parts are missing. Did you hear it?”

“I think so. Everything was so noisy.”

Xander grabbed a notebook from the counter and brought it to the table. He sat, pencil at the ready. “Okay, shoot.”

Working together, Giles, Myka, and Artie were able to piece together the parts of the rhyme that each was sure of and put them into couplets that made sense. Everyone gathered around to hear Xander read out what he had on the page.

“Two is one and one is two.  
Master chose who games with who.

A treasure from each we’ve come to take.  
In his hands, we rest its fate.

All here now may game with thee.  
But any more, you’ll forfeit be.

Solve our puzzles and face the pain.  
Your treasures you may see again.

But only one, the victor be.  
The other, death, a kindness seek.”

Buffy sighed, “Gotta say, still don’t understand the poetry thing.”

“It’s not meant to be artistic,” Giles answered in his resigned teacher’s voice. “It’s a set of rules telling us how to play their game.”

Pete rolled his eyes. “I hate rhyming rules.”

“This is obviously the first puzzle,” Myka stated. “So, the first stanza must mean that these, um, these… demons have someone pulling their strings. And this master of theirs has chosen you two as the targets.”

Giles and Artie glanced at each other. “We do have a mutual past,” Artie grumbled. “Maybe someone’s been waiting an awful long time for revenge because of something we both worked on.”

“The next bit confirms what happened to Willow and Claudia.” Giles slowly removed his glasses for a polish. “They had to take something equally important from both of us. Something we would fight for, and, if need be, give our lives to keep safe.”

Xander frowned. “But why take Willow? If they wanted what was most important to you, wouldn’t they take…?” he glanced toward Buffy.

“Yes, Buffy is my Slayer and my purpose. But Willow is…” The Watcher faltered.

His Slayer came to his rescue. “Willow’s the little spark of light that’s always there to prove the world isn’t completely swallowed in darkness.”

Giles gave her a small smile. “It seems you do understand poetry after all, Buffy. It’s true. Willow has become a part of my life that I would indeed say I treasure. That, aside from the fact that they might have seen kidnapping a Slayer as too much of a risk. And,” he gazed sympathetically at the agents, “from my brief introduction to her, I’d venture to guess that Claudia fills much the same role in your lives.”

Artie ducked his head, knowing the answer was written all over his face. And that she was in danger because of him… again. Myka offered him support with a light hand on his hunched shoulder.

“The third stanza is why I don’t think we can call anyone,” she said. “It has to mean that we can help the players because we saw the kidnapping, but call anyone else and who knows what they’ll do.”

“It sucks,” Xander whispered. “Oz is her boyfriend. He has a right to know.”

Pete shook his head grimly. “Totally. And if we lose Claudia, Mrs. Fredricks is gonna fry us.”

“But, then it says if you guys win the game you get them back, right?” Buffy asked hopefully.

Giles took a deep breath. “If we can survive the tests, it says that one of us will.”

“This is bull!” Xander stood and turn huge eyes on the Watcher. “I know I usually hate when you do this, but spell it out for us. Worst case scenario.”

The older man was noticeably avoiding everyone's eyes. "Well, um, if we fail this time, the world won't end."

"Depends on whose world you're talkin’ about." Xander touched his arm. "This is Willow, Big Guy. Give it to me straight."

"Claudia, too," Pete added to the plea. "We need to know what we're up against."

Giles sighed deeply and looked around the group. "If we can't find a way to best their games and worse comes to worst.... Arthur and I will end up brutally murdering one another, and Willow and, um, Claudia will never be found." His gaze met Artie's, both knowing what the other was capable of.

"Well, that can't happen," Myka insisted.

"We're on it, People," Buffy announced. "And whoever's behind this is gonna wish they were never born."

“Yeah,” Pete agreed enthusiastically. “Time to seriously kick some bad guy butt. Where do we start?”

“Here,” Giles gestured to the piles of books on the table. “Our only chance to beat these demons at their own game is to know all we can about them. So we research.” There were subtle groans, but Artie and Myka nodded, ready to go to work. “I think the best place to start may be with what brought you here. Willow and I hit something of a dead end with nothing but ‘clown demons’ to go on. But if we knew of any Artifact involved…”

Artie pulled a file out of his bag, then hesitated. “They understand this is all top secret, right?” he eyed the two teenagers.

“Arthur,” Giles groaned. “They fight vampires.”

“Yes, fine, okay…” The senior agent plopped the file on the table. “We came here looking for a bifurcated Artifact,” he began, knowing Giles had the background to understand everything he was talking about. “It was a Carnival-style mask and scepter set once owned by the Marquise de Sade. Whenever and wherever the two are brought together there has been an outbreak of sadism and murder.”

“I think it’s clear that there’s more at work here than the standard personality transfer,” Giles muttered, studying the file. “I seem to remember something about the Marquise… Give me a moment the consult a book.”

Watching her Watcher hurry into the stacks, Buffy leaned over to Pete. “You ever get the feeling people are speaking another language and you should just stand back and let the knowledge-guys figure things out?”

“All the time,” the agent whispered back.

“It’s as I feared,” Giles set down an open book for Artie and Myka to look over. “The Marquise de Sade was known to be an accomplished practitioner of the dark arts. It’s been rumored that he was once able to capture a pair of Char-Qualkn demons and bind them to his will somehow. Clearly, he used the mask and scepter to imprison them, and, as he sent them out to cause mayhem during Carnival time, their original species name was bastardized into the modern word, Harlequin. Which is why Willow and I could only find references to them as far back as the eighteenth century.”

Myka looked up from the page with a furrowed brow. “Does knowing this help us, or just creep the crap out of us?”

“It helps,” Artie nodded. “Now that we know what they are, we can figure out how to kill them.”

“Time to get to work,” the librarian announced, beginning to pull more books from shelves.

++++++++

Claudia opened her eyes and blinked several times. The dull grey ceiling above her didn’t look familiar. She rolled her head carefully to the side and saw another girl lying unconscious on an old army cot across the room. Listening for anyone else, she slowly sat up and found that they were shut in some kind of storage room. A soft groan brought her attention back to the other girl. 

“What happened?”

“I’m not sure yet… Willow, wasn’t it?” Willow sat up and nodded. “Last I remember we were with everyone else outside. Then I woke up here.”

The other redhead glanced around. “Do you think we’re the only ones that got captured? Maybe the others were put in another room.”

Claudia got up and tried the solid metal door. It was, of course, locked. She peered out a small window. “I don’t see anything. It’s all quiet out there, too.” Plopping down next to Willow, she chuckled, “Artie’s gonna kill me. He ordered me not to leave his side.”

The younger girl couldn’t help but chuckle with her. “Giles will be worried, too.”

“Don’t you worry, it’ll be all right. Wherever we are, Artie will find us.”

“Not if Giles finds us first.”

The two girls looked at each other and grinned, recognizing the kindred spirit in the other.

Claudia laughed. “Well, we’d better figure out how to get outta here. Those two old farts are gonna be completely lost without us.”

“Yep,” Willow smiled. The smile faded as they both sat thinking for a minute.

“So… Demons, huh?” the Warehouse agent grunted.

“Yep,” came in a more somber tone. “But this doesn’t make sense. Those two that attacked us looked right. I mean they were the things we were after. But the book said they were trickster types. They like to tease people and make them play awful games, not kidnap them.”

“And what was with that terrible song they kept chanting. It didn’t even make any…”

Two sets of eyes went wide as they both rapidly went through what they’d heard in their heads and came to the undeniable conclusions.

“This isn’t about us,” the young witch murmured. 

“Those creeps are gonna make the guys fight each other to try and get us back.”

“We’re their treasures,” Willow breathed, astonished. “Not good. Not good at all. That guy was about ready to kill him before. Who knows what he’ll do to Giles now.”

“Hey… Your guy didn’t seem all that defenseless or pacifistic either.” Claudia took a deep breath. “Listen. We know the whatevers had to take equivalent treasures from each of them, so that means they both must care a lot about the two of us. And, if your Giles is anything like my Artie, their first instincts will be to try and save both of us. We just have to do what we can to help them from this end.”

“Giles is always getting hurt. I hate the thought of him getting hurt more because of me.”

“Tell me about it. Sometimes it seems like Artie’s a total pain magnet. He just recovered from being run through with a sword.”

“You don’t even want to know what happened to Giles last year.” Willow stood, resolve face firmly in place. “Let’s see what we have to work with in here. If we want to save our men, the first step is getting through that door.”

“Knew I liked you!”

++++++++

The library was dark except for the dim glow of the reading lamps. It was the wee hours of the morning and the hours of searching had taken their toll. Xander was slumped over the table, sound asleep. Buffy had disappeared into Giles’ office where the couch was. Pete had stretched out on the exercise mats, saying he just needed to rest his eyes. No one had the heart to disturb him when he started softly snoring. Myka was the diehard, still sitting in the dim light, trying to make sense of ancient texts on subjects she would have never believed a day ago.

Artie sat on the steps, his face cradled in his hands. He looked up slowly when Giles approached and handed him a tumbler. The Watcher sat down next to him, taking a sip from his own drink.

“When did we become a couple of stupid, old men?” he sighed deeply. 

Artie chuckled mirthlessly. “The extra twenty years made us old. I think the stupid was there to begin with.”

“Yes,” Giles snorted, “You’re probably right.” Several minutes passed in silence as both stared out at nothing. Finally, his voice barely audible, the Watcher breathed, “She’s a brilliant and resourceful young woman… likely already figured this whole mess out and finding her own escape.”

“Yes, she is… And you were talking about Willow, weren’t you?”

“I was. But I suspect it holds true for Claudia as well.”

Artie took a sip of his drink, hissing against the burn. “She’s already spent so much of her life alone because of me. I can’t stand the thought of causing her more pain.”

“Wherever they are, we should believe that they were kept together. I imagine them to be quite the formidable pair. Chances are, they’ll be just as worried about us,” Giles gave a sad smile. “It’s in the giving nature of the girl.”

“Yeah, Claudia will worry. Then save herself and come kick my sorry butt for getting her kidnapped by demons.”

They shared a soft chuckle and fell silent again.

Artie stared into his glass with a frown. “I’ll do what I have to,” he mumbled. “If we can’t stop this, and there is no way to save both of them… you should know that I will do whatever it takes to save Claudia.”

Giles nodded stiffly. “And I would guess you’d expect no less of me regarding Willow.” A sideways glance from the Warehouse agent was all the answer needed. “I wonder… Will you tell her after this is over?”

“Tell her what?”

“That your love for her is not quite as fatherly and innocuous as she might imagine.”

“Just what are you accusing me of?” Artie growled.

“Only of feeling for your treasure as deeply as I feel for mine.” At the personal admission, Giles ducked his head to hide a slight blush.

The other man looked over and snorted. “Stupid, old men is right.” He gulped the rest of his whiskey. “Well, at least mine is out of high school.”

Giles head shot up at the jab. “Yes, you’re right. The two or three years Claudia is older than Willow more than make up for the decade you have on me.” 

“Claudia is much more mature than she appears.”

“Oh, and you think I look at Willow and see what, pigtails and dimples?”

“I wouldn’t put it past you and your—“

“I’ve got you!” Myka’s shout of triumph put an abrupt end to the growing hissing match. The two men were up and headed toward her within a split second. She looked up at their hopeful faces. “At least, I think this is them. The twin demons part fits. And this looks like treasures they’re stealing in the engraving. But I can’t read most of the page. It’s in a language I’ve never seen before.”

“Which is a lot for her to admit,” Pete murmured the intended joke as he stumbled over, rubbing his eyes.

“Let me see, please,” Giles reached out for the book. “Yes. It’s in a pretty standard demon dialect.” All eyes were on him as he sat down to study the book. “This shouldn’t take too long. Give me a bit and I’ll have it translated.”


	4. King Clown

4\. King Clown

“Stand back!” Claudia wrapped a blanket around her hands for protection and rammed the wooden leg from a dismantled army cot through the small, glass window in the door. Tracing the wood around the frame, she made sure all the sharp fragments of glass were cleared out. “Well… If someone’s supposed to be guarding us, that should make them show up.”

Willow broke another leg in two, producing a pair of sharp stakes. “I know it doesn’t seem like much as a weapon,” she handed one to Claudia, “But you’d be surprised how effective a sharp stick can be in the demon world.”

The agent took the stake and shushed the other girl. They both listened intently for any sound of trouble coming.

“Nothing,” Claudia huffed. “Guess we don’t rate on their threat list.”

“Yeah, well… With Buffy and the others coming to rescue us, they probably have bigger things to worry about.”

“Buffy was the little blond one, right? She was cute, but Pete will likely pound his way in here with his head… literally.” The older girl chuckled at the thought.

“Oh, you don’t understand. Buffy’s the Slayer. Bad move kidnapping the Slayer’s best friend.” At the other girl’s blank look, Willow sighed, “I forgot no one told you. It all happened so fast in the alley. The Slayer is the chosen one. The one girl in all the world with the strength and power to fight the demons and vampires.”

“You mean like a super-girl?” At Willow’s nod, Claudia pursed her lips, letting the thought sink in for a moment. “Cool,” she nodded. “No wonder they keep her a secret, though. Guys have a hard enough time dealing with how awesome us chicks are as it is.”

Both girls shared a giggle.

“See anything?” Willow asked when Claudia peered out the newly cleared window again.

“There’s a table across the room. I think I see a set of keys sitting on it.” She glanced around their small cell. “If we take both the cots completely apart and tie all the sticks together with something, we might reach them. Maybe our shoe laces or something…”

Willow went to the door and stared out at the keys. After she didn’t move for a few minutes, the Warehouse agent noticed the lack of help and went back to stand behind her. 

“What are you looking at?” Her breath caught when she saw the keys jump on the table.

The younger girl’s head dropped in frustration. “I thought I could do it,” she muttered. “I’m just not strong enough.”

“Are you packing an Artifact you didn’t tell me about?”

“Huh?” Willow turned around. “Oh, Giles never even got the chance to tell me what that means. I don’t think so. I’ve been practicing a little magick. I thought I might be able to float something that small, but I can’t.”

Claudia blinked a few times. “All right, guess I’ve seen weirder crap. But this day is totally going straight to the top of the bizarreo list.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, long story short, Artifacts are objects that basically soak up what happens around them, like energy from people and certain events, and gain some sort of power. At the Warehouse, we collect and store the ones that start making trouble in the world.”

“Wow. Like talismans and stuff. Only those are given magickal properties on purpose.”

“Suppose that works. And by the way, I’m hoping from what you do that you’re the type who can keep a secret. Cause otherwise… My bosses will so hang me by my toes for spilling the beans.”

Willow chuckled. “The only people I would tell already know by now anyway. I wonder why Giles never told us about you guys.”

“Probably the same reason Artie didn’t with the vampire thing. It’s hard enough dealing with one world ending problem at a time.”

“Yeah, that sounds right. He likes to protect us whenever he can.” 

“You know what,” Claudia held Willow by the shoulders and turned her back around. “Why don’t you try with the magick stuff one more time?”

“Okay, but I’m really not that strong.” The young witch focused on the keys again and tried to summon up all of her power. They jiggled.

Claudia leaned up and whispered, “Giles is in trouble. He needs your help.”

The keys suddenly shot off the table and both girls ducked as they flew in over their heads and hit the back wall of the cell.

“Wow,” Willow gasped.

“Yep,” Claudia chuckled. “You so totally heart your geezer.”

“What?” the younger girl blushed. “I don’t… I mean I care, a lot… It’s Giles! And he’s… Well, he’s…”

“Don’t worry. I keep secrets, too, you know. Besides, if I had a Farnsworth on me, I’d so be checking up on the old man I’m not supposed to be this worried about right now.”

++++++++

“Oh man! How can we be so stupid!?” Pete’s sudden outburst made everyone stop in their tracks as they paced and waited for Giles to finish his work. “We use the Farnsworth to contact Claudia. As long as she’s still on Earth, it can reach her, right?”

Artie silently reached into his back pocket and held out the communications device.

Myka murmured, “One per team, Pete.”

“Damn. That’s a stupid rule. I’ve always thought it was a stupid rule. When are you gonna have more of those things made anyway?”

The senior agent scowled at him. “Oh yes. I’ll put that at the top of my list of things to have Philo Farnsworth do. Next time I raise him from the grave, that is.”

Buffy’s head popped up from being deep in her own thoughts. “Oh, you don’t want to do that. Raise people from the grave. It’s never a good thing.”

“I think he was hitting me with some sarcasm,” Pete grumbled. “Unless he’s been sneaking out alone at night again,” he shot back at Artie. “And you people can do that?”

“Well,” Buffy frowned, “I can’t. But, if it was really important, I bet Giles could find a way.” She looked over, but the Watcher was so engrossed in his translation that he had shut their conversation out entirely.

“Not if he always takes this long to figure anything out,” Artie growled under his breath.

“Breakfast,” Xander announced, entering the library. “Very first batch of doughnuts. Hot from the ovens.”

The welcome food drew the full attention of the room for a short while. Long enough for Giles to finish his work in peace.

“Here, Big Guy, I saved you a jelly.” Xander offered the doughnut to the Watcher as he stood up in front of the gathered group.

“Thank you,” he murmured, still sorting through the information swirling in his mind.

Buffy frowned. “I don’t like that look. It’s never good when he looks like that.”

This brought Giles’ focus up to the expectant faces. “Right, um… It, it could be worse than it is.”

Myka gave him a small understanding smile. “Why don’t you start by telling us exactly what ‘it’ is?”

“Yes… Quite.” He straightened and cleared his throat. “It appears we are, indeed, dealing with Char-Qualkn demons. These demons exist in twined pairs, and find their… joy, in raining cruelty and torture down upon their victims. It is also clear from the text that the Marquis might have been doing the world a service by using his power to bind their will. The havoc they have been wreaking under the control of a master over the last century is nowhere near the threat they would be on their own.”

“Tame version or not,” Buffy said. “These guys came after my people. How do I kill them?”

A sad smile drifted across his face at her sure determination. “It’s not going to be easy. Historically, the games Char-Qualkn force their prey into were tests to find the best warrior. These warriors would fight for the promise of having what was stolen from them returned. Usually something they couldn’t live without.” Giles shared a knowing glance with Artie. “However, the games were a test they used to find the champion, then, by consuming his heart and brain, they absorbed his power and grew stronger themselves.”

There were disgusted faces all around. “Hey, but if these warrior guys were so strong,” Pete spoke up. “Why didn’t they turn on the demon things and take them out instead.”

“The grief of loss is one of the greatest ways to cloud the mind. The demons keep hidden until the contest is over. By then there was only one, likely exhausted and wounded, warrior left. And, even for one with the abilities of a Slayer, they are a monumental challenge. They are extraordinarily strong and, according to the text, the twined Char-Qualkn have the ability to heal each other’s wounds. Therefore, the only way to destroy them is to deal the exact same killing blow to both of them simultaneously. An impossible feat for one, and unlikely even for two with great skill and of the same mind.”

Heads hung and shoulders slumped at the devastating news. No one spoke. No one knew what to say. Pete slowly plucked the last doughnut from the box. When he brought it to his mouth the thin paper lining followed. He shook it testily, taking it for something he had the power to fight.

“No, wait… Wait, Pete,” Myka stopped him. “There’s something on the bottom.” She carefully pulled the paper from the sticky doughnut and spread it over the box.

Xander peeked over her shoulder. “Hey, that looks like Sunnydale. It’s a map. How did that get in there? I brought the box straight from the bakery.”

“There’s only this one burn mark,” the agent mumbled. “Do you know what’s there?”

“You think X marks the spot? I don’t recognize that place. But hey, Wills can find out… No, she can’t.”

Giles stepped up and placed a steady hand on the boy’s shoulder. Xander glanced back at him. He tried, but couldn’t hide the spark of blame deep in his eyes. The Watcher ducked his head, understanding completely. If he had looked into a mirror, he would see that and more.

“Myka, look at the border,” Artie was pointing. “I think it might be more than it seems.”

“You’re right. It’s words. I can almost make them out, but…”

“Here, let me try.” Buffy carefully took the map. “Slayer vision might do the trick.” 

“You mean you have special magni-vision, too?” Pete piped up. “Like Superman?”

“No, I mean I don’t have old people eyes,” she muttered and nodded, affirming she could see the small lettering. The rest of the group held their collective breath and waited for her to read out the message. “Here we go… The place is set, the time soon coming. When Sun kisses Earth, a start to the gaming. Six, a company brave and true. But one by one will turn to two. His treasure in reach for only the best. A princess to save, or mourn with last breath.”

“When Sun kisses Earth,” Myka repeated. “Sunset!”

Buffy nodded in agreement, “What time does the Sun set tonight?”

“6:42,” Giles murmur distractedly. Seeing the flurry of eyebrows raised in his direction, he added, “The, um, the full moon is in a few days.”

“Oh yeah,” his Slayer sighed.

“Great,” Xander added in a mutter. “That’s all we need is a majorly ticked off werewolf.”

“Were-,” Pete did a double take and leaned nearer to Myka. “Did he really just say werewolf?” His partner nodded with wide eyes.

Xander shrugged at the annoyed sigh Buffy huffed.

Giles sank into a chair, mumbling, “It doesn’t matter. If we can’t save Willow tonight, I’ll willing lock myself in the cage with him come the time.”

“Giles!” the Slayer scolded.

“Wait. So, who’s the werewolf?” Pete whispered to his fellow agents.

The petit blond shook her head slowly. “Oz. Willow’s boyfriend.”

“Oh,” Pete breathed. “Oh snap!”

Buffy turned back to her Watcher. “Giles, from my experience, these demon things just kinda show up, so there’s no point in going to wherever this place is until sunset, right?” He looked up at her distractedly, then nodded. “Okay, so here’s the plan. I don’t know about everyone else here, but I’m positive you haven’t been to bed in like three days. If we’re going to do this tonight, we need both of you in fighting shape,” she glanced over to include Artie. “We have almost twelve hours for you to eat and rest, and that’s what you’re gonna do.”

“Humph,” Artie grouched. “He might take orders from little girls, but I’m—“

“Artie,” Myka interrupted him softly. “She’s right. We can help get you there, but it’s you who will have to face these things. ‘One by one will turn to two’, remember? They’re going to split us up somehow. Those two girls are your responsibility. Both of you. I agree with Buffy. One of us will be up to let you know if anything changes, but we need you two to be ready for tonight.”

He let his shoulders dip with the weight he felt, and accepted her logic.

Buffy turned when she heard Giles’ quiet growl. “No arguing from you either. I know you’re worried, but you’re going to get some sleep even if I have to knock you out… again.”

“Sounds like she’s done that before,” Pete chuckled.

“Only a couple times,” Xander answered. “It’s usually the bad guys who lay the big man out, though.” Both younger men shrugged under the glares of the others. Glancing sidelong at Giles, Xander added slowly, “Mostly ‘cause he’s trying to save my butt?”

“Yes, Buffy,” Giles sighed. “I agree that I’m not thinking at my clearest right now. However, my flat is a bit small for all of us to rest comfortably. It would be best if we all stayed together, but…”

“I know. And talk about giving my mom another reason to freak… Besides the whole not tell anyone rule thing.”

“We still have our rooms at the hotel,” Myka suggested. “Not that that’s really staying together.”

“Willow’s house,” Xander piped up. “Her parents are gone again, but I have a key. There are enough beds and couches for all of us to get some shut-eye, plus the kitchen so we don’t have to run out every time we need food. And it’s closer to the place on the map than anywhere else.”

Buffy smiled, “I think Xander wins this round. Anyone else want to gripe about it?”

She got two surly grunts and three nods of agreement. Decision made, they packed up the weapons and books they thought would be useful and went to put their old men, make that champions, to bed.

++++++++

“Figures. Another locked door.” Claudia yanked on the handle, but it held fast.

They had escaped their original cell, but this new room was not much bigger, and even emptier than the first. Willow climbed up on the table, the only piece of furniture in the room, and rubbed at a tiny, crud-covered window.

“We must be in some kind of basement. I can see dead grass and dirt out there. And the sun’s really bright, like late afternoon.”

“We must have been stuck in there longer than we thought,” the Warehouse agent muttered, scanning the room. “I just hope the guys are still okay.”

“They’ll figure it out.” Willow jumped down. “We have to keeping hoping. And, like you said, they’ll do what they have to in order to rescue us. Even if it means working together. Besides,” she smiled, “I think Giles likes it when he gets to play the hero.”

“Yeah. Swoop right in to save the two little redheads.”

The young witch leaned back against the table. “You’ve been thinking about her, too, huh?”

Claudia shrugged defensively. “How can I not? I mean, copper hair and hazel eyes… Can’t get much closer to that than the two of us.” She slumped against the wall. “They both said they loved her. Is she what they see when they look at us? Is that the only reason Artie’s been letting me stick around?”

“Giles has never mentioned anyone named Amber before. But then, he usually doesn’t share much about his past. Especially the painful parts. And believe me, when someone you care about is turned into a vampire, it doesn’t get more painful.” Willow’s hands flew up to her mouth. “Ohmygosh. That must be why he got so freaked when… A little while back they thought I’d been turned. He must have thought he was going to have to do it all over again.”

“Like when he had to stake this Amber chick?”

“Poor Giles.”

“Artie seems to think he wouldn’t have had to do it.”

Willow nodded sympathetically. “That’s one of the biggest dangers of vampires. They still look and act like the people you loved. But that person is gone and there’s only a demon left. One of my best friends was…”

Claudia walked over and touched her arm, letting her know she didn’t have to finish the obviously painful story. “This world of yours can be pretty crap sometimes, huh? Ours too, I guess. At least, most the time, when someone gets wammied, we can fix it.”

“I’m sure he loves you, you know,” Willow whispered. The other redhead looked confused. “I mean, you were wondering if Artie only cared for you because of her. But, I’m pretty positive, if that were the case we wouldn’t be here. These demons can read men’s hearts to find their treasure. And they would know if the guys didn’t actually care about us. But, here we are, their treasures.”

Claudia gave a small, crooked smile. “I’m not sure that should make me feel as better as it does. With the being kidnapped part and all.”

“Just think of the proud look he’ll get when he rescues you,” Willow grinned.

“Who Artie? I’m not imagining proud so much as that normal cross between grumpy puss and indigestion.” She turned and headed back toward the locked door. “Which will slowly turn into a little ‘don’t hurt me for making demons come after you’ pout. But, I admit, I do find that one cute.”

Her new friend shook her head, laughed, and followed her. “And you say I have a crush on my geezer.”

“Never denied. Just don’t tell him. Old man would have a heart attack.”

Willow laughed. “And I can just see Giles blushing and stuttering himself into a frenzy.”

“Yep, like we said before… hopeless. Good thing I just found the electronics panel for the security system on this door so we can go help ‘em out of their mess.” She popped a small square of metal off the wall as she spoke.

“Oh, here.” Willow pulled paperclip out of her pocket. “You can use this to help cross the current and activate--” She stopped when Claudia started Laughing hard.

“It really is like looking in a weird mirror with you.” When the other redhead’s nose wrinkled in confusion, she continued, “Come on. This looks like your standard L200 control system. We’ll have it begging for mercy before it knows what hit it.”

++++++++

Pete poured himself a cup of coffee and settled at the kitchen table across from Myka.

“How’s he doing?” his partner murmured.

“You know. Lying in there, staring at the ceiling, worrying about having to face some extra ugly demon things and getting Claudia and himself killed… Pretty much normal Artie stuff.” He sighed and shook his head. “So what’s our plan this time, Myks? ‘Cause I’m a little freaked here.”

Before she could answer, they were joined by Buffy, and Xander, who was carrying a large box.

Myka gave a small nod to acknowledge them. “I think there’s only one plan we can have right now. We have to get them to wherever these monsters are. We know how Artie is, and I think I’ve seen a lot of the same from Mr. Giles in the last day. We get them there, and they’ll do whatever they have to, to get Claud and Willow out.” She added with a worried frown, “Even if they don’t come back themselves.”

“Your right,” Buffy muttered. “Giles has been willing to lay down his life for me more than once. He would for any of us. God, I don’t want to lose any friends to these Cher’s Koalas.”

Both Warehouse agents blinked, as Xander distractedly corrected, “Char-Qualkn.” The young man was sorting the contents of his box.

“What is all that?” Pete asked when he noticed.

“Oh,” Xander looked up at them. “It’s Giles’ first aid kit. I figured, if what Myka said is true and we’re gonna get separated… These guys know there’s only one way to make any of us get left behind. Some of us are gonna end up getting hurt. So I’m making a little med-pack for everyone. That way, even if we’re alone, the others will know we can at least patch ourselves up and not have to worry so much.”

“Good thinking,” Myka nodded, and began helping to sort bandages. “Look, I know we all want to keep our friends safe. But I really think the best idea is to keep the guys from using up all their strength before they have to face whatever’s at the end of this by themselves. That means, however evil and painful it is, it’s up to us to do it. And, Pete, I know you’re worried about Claudia and Artie, but if one of us gets to stay with them, I think we should send Buffy.” She held her hand up for the inevitable protest from her partner. “Pete, she knows a lot more about this kind of stuff than we do, and we’ve seen how strong—“

“Myka… Myka!” Pete finally got her attention. “I agree. She is, after all, the Slayer.”

“I am,” Buffy agreed. “Slayage is what I do. Sounds like as solid a plan as we can hope for right now. And, trust me, these things are going down hard.”

All agreed, they turned their attention to helping Xander prepare.

++++++++

Claudia slid along the wall of a dimly lit corridor with Willow pressed in close behind her. No matter how similar they were, the Warehouse agent still felt it was her responsibility to keep the younger student as safe as possible. They carefully approached a door and Claudia quickly shifted to its other side. Both girls nodded an agreement on a silent plan before she held out a hand and began counting down.

At zero, she swung the door open and they both jumped through.

The room was bright compared to where they had just come from. Light spilled from a bank of monitors, all showing different rooms. Including the cell they had escaped from. A high-backed chair faced the screens.

The chair swiveled around to reveal a man wearing a Harlequin mask and holding a scepter. He gave them a wide grin of welcome.

Willow clenched her fists at the sight and growled, “Ethan!”


	5. The Maze

5\. The Maze

“You know the clown king here?” Claudia asked with just a hint of surprise in her voice.

“Yeah,” answered Willow, never taking her eyes off Ethan. “He’s like Giles’ own personal bad penny. A blast from the past who likes to show up and cause trouble.”

“From his past, huh? And what do you wanna bet linked to Artie, too?”

“What are you doing here, Ethan?” Willow growled, both girls eyeing him expectantly. “This isn’t really your style. You usually like to hide in a corner and watch while people get hurt… On second thought, this is totally your style.”

The Chaos mage’s grin never wavered. He chuckled softly. “I am flattered. You remember me.”

“How could any of us forget?” the young witch grumbled.

Ethan smiled even wider. “The lovely and feisty little Willow. You have no idea how surprised and happy I was to see you brought here. I was so afraid I’d have to deal with the Slayer’s tiresome attitude. But no… It makes me proud to know that Ripper still has such good taste.”

“Ripper?”

“Long story,” Willow answered the agent.

“Okay, later. For now,” in one smooth motion Claudia pulled Artie’s pistol from the back of her jeans and pointed it steadily at Ethan’s head, “I suggest you put the Artifacts down very slowly and put your hands on your head.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you still had that,” Willow sputtered. “I had to tell you if I had anything.”

Claudia hissed, “Shh!” indicating the screen showing their original cell.

“Ohh.”

Ethan was laughing again. “Miss Donavan. How would Arthur feel if he knew you were threatening a man’s life with a gun?”

“Considering the ‘man’ kidnapped me and has been threatening him, I’ll say he’d be good with it.”

“Ahh. But even if you did have a heart hard enough to kill, it wouldn’t be the best idea for you to kill me right now anyway.”

“Yeah? Because why. I’d regret it?”

“No,” Ethan shifted his gaze to something behind the girls. “Because of them.”

The two Char-Qualkn demons stepped up behind them. Claudia jump around, startled, and fired into one demon’s chest. The monster slowed for a moment and growled deep in its throat. Then both demon’s chests began to glow slightly and the bullet wound closed and healed.

“You see,” Ethan continued as his captives stared, wide-eyed. “If you kill me, you will break my control over them. And, with no master, they would be free to do as they pleased. I don’t think you’d like the outcome of that. But don’t worry, yours is not the flesh they have a taste for at the moment.”

Willow spun back to the mage, more acclimated to the sight of demons than the Warehouse agent. “Why are you doing this, Ethan? Why would you want to make Giles suffer like this? He was your friend.”

“I’ve only done as he did to me. They both took something I treasured. Seems only a fitting revenge.”

“What? Tell us what they did.”

Ethan wagged his finger. “Nuh uh… Can’t spoil all the fun too soon. Besides…”

The first demon grabbed Claudia’s gun and crushed it in a clawed hand. Then both girls were taken, surprisingly gently, by the shoulders and made to sit on a bench by the wall.

“… The show is about to begin.”

He swiveled around and looked at a screen that showed an outdoor space. Six people were cautiously approaching.

“Don’t you hurt them!” Claudia cried out.

“My dear,” Ethan chuckled, keeping his eyes on the monitor, “I think you’re missing the point of the exercise.”

++++++++

“Welcome to Sunnydale,” Xander drawled as the small group came to a halt in front of the crumbling façade of a funhouse. “Come for the Hellmouth, stay for all your creepy, evil setting needs.”

“Like a dilapidated carnival?” Pete continued the banter as he glanced around at the rusted, overgrown rides and torn tents.

“Alright,” Buffy huffed. “I’ve been pretty much all over this town on patrol. Was this always here?” The only answer was a shrug from both Xander and Giles.

Myka was staring up at the giant, painted clown head that stood as the entrance to the funhouse. “Well, this is the most intact building within a mile. Seems like our best bet.”

Xander shuddered, “I hate clowns.”

“Duuude…” Pete commiserated.

Buffy was searching out with all her senses. “I don’t get it. Aside from it being Creepsvile, there’s nothing really here.”

In the next few moments, the sun slowly dipped down and met the horizon. The structure before them grew into a dark, twisted fortification. And the smiling clown morphed into an image straight out of nightmares, its sharp, menacing teeth creating a sealed door before them. Xander jumped and screeched, ducking behind the Slayer. No one else could blame him for acting on their first impulse.

Pete gasped, “Great googly moogly.”

“I think we found it,” Myka murmured uncertainly.

Giles stepped forward and ran his hand along the surface of the doorway. “No kind of handle or mechanism. If the trend continues, there must be some sort of puzzle to open it.”

“I’ve always found that an ax makes a good key,” Buffy stated, turning to where the bag of weapons they brought had been. “That is if those dirty cheaters didn’t just steal all our stuff!”

“This is a test of cunning and courage,” her Watcher sighed. “Also, likely to be a means of merely tormenting us. It’s no surprise that we’d be left with nothing in the way of tools.”

Xander patted at the small pouch attached to his belt and sighed in relief. At least their med-kits had been left untouched.

Artie stepped up beside Giles. “They weren’t smart enough to take everything,” he said, dipping a hand into his leather bag. “Stand back. I’ll make a door.” 

“Arthur, careful…” Before Giles could stop him, Artie pulled out a small jar and threw its contents at the clown’s mouth. There was a bright flash and a shockwave that knocked the entire group back and to the ground.

Buffy was the first to recover and crawled toward the two older men, both of whom had taken the brunt of the impact. “Are you guys alright?” Giles sat up slowly and nodded, readjusting his glasses. “I take it that wasn’t supposed to happen.”

Artie groaned as Pete ran up to help him. “Hey man, a little warning next time you throw around exploding Artifacts. You still with us?”

“Yes,” the senior agent grumbled. “It was my own stupidity. I should have realized. Is anyone else hurt?”

“All accounted for,” Xander called. “What happened?”

“It was just a mistake,” Giles answered. “Some of Francois Villon’s ink, I’m guessing. A good thought, but Arthur forgot the inherent instability of mixing Artifact energy and demon magick.”

“I’m sorry,” Artie muttered. “Guess we really are on our own.” He tossed his bag to the ground.

“But,” Buffy scrunched her face. “Isn’t the mixing of those things why we’re in this mess in the first place?”

“It can be done with great care and study,” Giles answered. “That is why the Marquis’ achievement was so noteworthy. Where others would have created a talisman to bind these demons, he went one step beyond.”

“I think I’ve got something, Guys,” Myka called. “Over here.” She pointed up as they gathered around her. “See? In the clown’s eye. I think it’s the next clue.”

Everyone soon found the spiral of words she was looking at.

“I’ve got this one,” Pete announced. “It says: Enter here, all those who dare. To seek and save the maiden fair.” The large agent shook his head. “Boy, if Claud knew she was being put in the role of ‘damsel in distress’, she’d be in there kicking butt already.”

Xander grinned. “Yeah. Whoever’s behind this is going to have a couple of really cheesed off damsels on their hands. I just hope they’re still okay when we find them.”

“They will be,” Buffy reassured all of her male companions. “Never doubt it.”

There were nods of agreement just as Myka shouted, “That’s it. See, the clue is written in the shape of a Nautalis. And all of these holes in the wall have corresponding numbers. We just have to reach in and pull the levers in the right order. It’s the Fibonacci Sequence!”

Artie stepped back to see the big picture. “I don’t see a one, two, or five.”

“That’s because it starts at the triple digits,” Myka grinned excitedly.

Giles stood on her other side. “Yes, I see what you mean. That means the first lever would be…”

He stepped forward, but was pushed aside by Buffy. “I’ll do the first one and check it out.” When her Watcher began to protest, a hard glare silenced him. “Where am I going?”

Myka pointed, “Number one-forty-four.”

The Slayer stepped forward and cautiously placed her arms into the two holes until she could feel the lever inside. Grabbing hold, she cringed and gave a tug. Everyone gave a sigh of relief when nothing happened to her. But there was a loud clunk, and one pair of the ugly clown teeth slid open an inch.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Buffy smiled, letting go. The teeth slammed shut.

“We must have to hold them all in order,” Myka mused.

The blond went back and held her lever. “Okay, Myka. Tell them what to do.”

The agent nodded determinedly. “Pete, number Two-thirty-three.”

“Yes ma’am!”

“Mr. Giles, please take number--”

“Three-seventy-seven?”

She smiled and nodded. “And Xander, you get six hundred and ten. That leaves nine-eighty-seven for you, Artie. And I’ll get the last, number fifteen-ninety-seven.” Myka stepped up, put her arms in the holes, and pulled.

There was a bang as the mouth-door gaped open. At the same time, sharp spikes in the wall slammed closed on Myka’s arms. She bit down on an agonized scream. 

Pete was the first to run to her side. “Myks, let go!”

“No. If I do the door will close.”

Her partner’s eye grew panicked when blood began to seep down her arms. “You’re hurt. Let me help you.”

“Pete, get them inside. We knew it would be this way. This was my puzzle to solve. Get going!”

“Everyone inside,” the Warehouse agent yelled, waving at them to continue. He gave Myka a pleading stare.

“They need you. Just get them through to the end… for me.” Myka’s face had gone pale, and she’d begun to shake. She was going into shock. 

“I promise,” her partner swore, tears flashing in his eyes, before turning and running through the entrance.

With everyone inside, Myka let go and sealed them in. 

Pete jumped clear of the gate just as it slammed shut.

“Where’s Myka?” Artie ran up and grabbed him by the shoulders.

“She… She was trapped. She had to hold the door open for the rest of us.”

The senior agent could see the slight panic still shining in Pete’s eyes. “And you left her there? Was there something wrong? Was she hurt?”

A spark of uncharacteristic annoyance arose in the taller man. “Of course she was hurt, Artie,” he nearly growled. “Isn’t that what this is all about? Your past coming back to literally bite all of us in the ass… again.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Xander interceded as the older man paled at the outburst. “Let’s focus, guys. Willow and Claudia. They need us.”

Pete took a calming breath. “I’m sorry. Myka told me to get you through this, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“I know,” Artie nodded. “It’s just…”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t get it,” Buffy was searching around the oppressively dim and empty room. “Where’s the next test?”

“It’s over here,” Xander announced. “And it’s my turn.”

“How do you know,” the Slayer asked as they gathered behind him and stared. “And what the hell is it.”

The pitch black pool of water stretched before them, its surface still and smooth. It could have been some kind mirrored floor, except for the medieval-looking contraption sitting at its edge. Some kind of chair attached to the end of a long lever stood menacing and waiting.

“Looks to me like some kind of dunking stool,” Pete mumbled.

“To be correct,” Giles and Artie chorused together, “it is a Ducking Stool.”

Pete gave them a sideways glare. “Thank you, encyclopedia bro-tanica.” The two older men seemed sufficiently chastised.

Buffy bent and touched the water, sending ripples along its surface. “Xander, what are you thinking? It will be impossible to see in that dark, and this water is so cold you’ll get hypothemics!” Both Giles and Artie opened their mouths but, seeing the words mirrored in each other, thought better of making the unnecessary correction. “You can’t go in there,” Buffy finished.

“There’s no choice,” the young man responded. “Look around. We all know the switch to open that door,” he pointed at their next obstacle, “has to be down there. I’m the logical choice, Buff. Remember, I was on the swim team.”

“For all of one day! And you were almost turned into a fish monster.” The petit blond frowned at the determination in her friend’s eyes. “You can’t ask me to strap you into this horrible contraption.”

“He’s not asking you,” Giles stepped up beside them. “This is my mess, and my trial.” He put a fatherly hand on his young student’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t be asked to do this. I’m sure I could--”

“No. It’s me. You’re going to put me in that water, and then you’re going to leave me behind and go save Willow. That’s what we’re here for.”

The Watcher couldn’t help a small swell of pride at the boy’s bravery. “I-it, um, it’s very cold in here. Perhaps you should take off as much clothing as possible so you’ll have something warm to put on when you get yourself out.” Xander nodded numbly at him, the reality of the situation settling in now that he had won the argument. “And, here,” Giles slid his tweed jacket off, “this should help keep you warm.”

“Thanks, man,” Xander whispered, adding his shirt, shoes, and socks to the pile on the floor. As he reached for the fly of his jeans, he looked up at Buffy. “You mind turning around and giving a guy some dignity,” he half-heartedly joked.

Buffy tried to give him her best smile. “Hey, I’ve seen you in a pair of speedos. Your dignity is a thing of the past. Besides, you can’t have anything worse than that on under there, can you?”

Xander shook his head slowly and pushed the jeans off his hips. He blushed slightly at the reveal of a pair of Scooby Doo print boxers shorts.

It was Pete who came to the younger man’s rescue, crowing, “Dude, awesome! Do you think I could get some of those in my size?”

The well-timed outburst was enough to spur the group on. Xander walked to the rough, wooden chair and sat down, and the Watcher moved to stand in front of him.

“Xander,” he resituated his glasses in frustration. “If there was any other way…”

“There’s not, Big Guy. At least, nothing we would be able to figure out in time. Just, make the straps loose and leave me one hand free. I’ll be good.”

Giles smiled slightly as he began his work. “Yes, I do believe you will be a very good man.”

“Was that a compliment, G-man?”

“Not if you’re going to insist on calling me that,” the Watcher sighed.

His young friend chuckled. “Just making all this easier for you.”

“Now listen,” Giles looked seriously into his eyes when everything else was finished. “When you find that switch, I want you to hold it for a count of five, no more. We will have enough time to move on. Then I want you to only concentrate on getting yourself out of there and warming up. Do you understand?”

“Got it,” Xander nodded. “And, Giles… I don’t care what these demons throw at you, or what you have to do… If you come back without Willow, you’ll have me to deal with.”

The older man took a deep breath. “If I can’t get to Willow, I won’t be coming back.” He looked to the others. “Go wait by the door and be ready.”

Before complying, Buffy ran over and hugged Xander around the neck. “Get them through,” he whispered into her ear.

Giles stepped around to the handle of the infernal mechanism and found Artie waiting there. They shared a silent conversation full of commiseration, then took their places.

“Are you ready,” Giles called when everyone was in place.

“As ever,” Xander answered.

Lifting the chair into the air, the two men maneuvered it over the pool, and plunged its captive into the black depths. Every heartbeat seemed like a lifetime as they waited for something, anything to happen. Only after what seemed like too long, the door snapped open. Knowing there was nothing else anyone could do, the shrinking group hurried through the opening.

++++++++

Just as it had happened with the view of the outside, as soon as the door slid shut, the camera watching the pool cut off.

“No!” Willow cried. “Xander! What’s happening?”

“Oh. Nothing you want to witness, Luv.” Ethan said casually without turning back to his prisoners. “Blub, blub, blub…” he teased.

“No!” the young witch screamed again, rushing forward and forcing his chair around. “You have to stop this.”

He stared at her with cold eyes. “Why?”

“Because you can be sure we won’t let you get away with hurting our friends,” Claudia growled.

“I don’t understand,” Willow pleaded. “Giles said you guys used to be friends. How can you be so hateful now? How can you enjoy seeing him suffer like this?”

“Friends… Is that what Ripper told you we were?” Ethan’s eyes glinted with a spark of deep red. “How memory fades,” he sneered. “No remorse for turning his back. No sorrow for the young man left with nothing. All I had, gone in a flash,” Willow was magickaly cast back to her seat. “As my ‘friend’ went back to safety. Found himself a new life and new friends. But look at them now!” He swung back to continue watching.

“Okay, this guy is a serious wackadoodle,” Claudia whispered to Willow.

“There’s something wrong,” the younger girl hissed back. “I think there is something affecting him. It’s like that thingy, the… Artifact, is making his anger and hate overwhelm him. Everything else he used to be is gone.”

“All Artifacts have bad side-effects. Could be that these whammy the person using them, too.  
Being an all-consuming ball of rage can’t be healthy.”

“If Ethan has lost the little reason he had, the others are in more danger than they can know. We have to find a way to warn them.”

Claudia sighed deeply. “Not much we can do right now with Mutt and Jeff waiting in the wings over there.” The piercing demon eyes never left them.

“And Ethan’s getting worse.”

The chaos sorcerer laughed joylessly as he watched the next monitor.

++++++++

Giles gazed up into nothing, his glasses dangling from loose fingers. He couldn’t bring himself to look for what could be next. This new hellish chamber was much brighter, lit by braziers lining the walls. Oppressive waves of heat radiated from the fires.

Several minutes passed as the others collected themselves. His Slayer approached and placed a comforting hand on Giles’ back. “He’ll be all right,” she tried to soothe. “He did exactly what you told him to do. By now he should be wrapped up in a big, tweed jacket twice his size.” Leaning her head against his shoulder, Buffy murmured, “You have to make yourself believe that.”

The Watcher blinked some moisture from his eyes before shifting them down to her. “I always…” He whispered, swallowing a lump in his throat. “I always knew there was a good chance that I would one day lose you, lose all of you. I just never realized that it would be my fault and by my own hands.”

Buffy shook her head. “You haven’t lost us yet. Xander, Willow, me… We’re all tougher than anyone can see, even you. We can do this because you taught us how and you believe in us. But right now we are believing in you to get us through this. And the faster you do, the sooner we’ll all be back together. We have to keep going now. It’s the only way to make sure they’ll be safe.”

Giles ran his hand affectionately over her shoulder and squeezed. “You’re right. Thank you.”

“Looks like the next round of fun is over here,” Pete called out.

Artie bent to see into the strange tunnel that was carved into one wall. “I don’t understand. It’s a hole.”

He leaned in, resting his hand on a small, flat cart that was affixed to a track leading up the slight incline. The touch triggered fire to erupt on all sides of the pathway. Sharp blades swung down, cutting closer and closer until there was barely room to reach an arm through to the lever at the other end.

Everyone jumped back when a burst of fire billowed up past the tight entrance.

“They’ve got to be kidding,” Buffy groaned.

Pete shrugged in a strangely appropriate state of panicked resignation. “Seems to make sense. Water, now fire. In a really sadistic sort of way, that is. Can I just say, I’m beginning to really not like demons?”

The Slayer couldn’t help an understanding smirk. “Most of them do take their evil seriously.”

“Can you two please focus for a moment?” Artie growled.

Pete gave him a sympathetic smile. “We’re here, Artie. We’ll figure it out. You’re gonna make it to her.”

The senior agent ducked his head and rubbed his eyes under his glasses.

“Looks to me,” Buffy stepped up, “like we only have one choice here.”

Pete suddenly moved to block her. “Yeah, me.”

“No way. I’m the smallest. I have a better chance. By the time you get to the other end, you’ll be sliced to ribbons.”

“Hey! I can suck it in when I want to,” Pete joked nervously. “Just… Hear me out. All I have to do is lie on this thing and let you guys pull me up to the switch. Just lying there is my specialty. Wait… No! Forget I said that. I’m actually a very active and attentive--”

“Pete, she’s in high school,” Artie reminded him stiffly.

“I know! But I’m not about to do something this dangerous and brave in front of a beautiful girl without her thinking I’m anything less than a stud muffin.”

Buffy tried to hide a soft chuckle. “Your studdliness is secure with me.” At his satisfied smile, she continued, “I still think I’m the better… It’s just, I have these supernatural reflexes and I can heal like so much fast than anyone else.” Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy could see her Watcher fighting to keep his composure while she was arguing her way into this torturous situation.

“And all of that is why you need to go on,” the Warehouse agent was saying. “What if I can’t get them through the next door? What if those monsters are waiting behind this one? This right here is something I can do. And I’ll get it done knowing you’re going to help these guys kick some evil ass.”

The Slayer found she couldn’t argue with his reasoning. “You’re sure?”

“As anyone as ready to wet themselves as I am right now can be.”

Nodding, she stepped aside.

Artie came up to Pete, his emotions under tight, but tenuous control. “Um… I…”

“This isn’t your fault, Buddy.”

The older man shook his head. “Sure feels like it. My past coming back again.”

“Exactly. Your past, someone else’s vendetta. You’ve got to get to whoever’s behind this. Snag and bag the Artifacts. That’s what we do.”

“Here,” Artie suddenly tugged his heavy overcoat off. “This might give you some protection from the flames and blades. Not much, but every little bit…”

Pete took the coat with a serious nod. “Find Claudia. Stop all this. Come back safe. That’s all I ask.”

“I’ll do my best,” Artie mumbled, mostly to the floor.

“Okay, Boys,” his agent said as he lay his belly on the cart that barely held him from shoulders to waist. “Turn me into Superman!” Reaching his arms forward, he prepared to grab the prize at the other end.

Giles stepped up next to Artie. “We’ll do this the same as before,” he instructed. “When you open the door, give us to a count of five, no more. With the angle of the track, you should slide right back out when you let go.”

The two older men took hold of lengths of chains hanging out of the wall on either side of the tunnel. With a final thumbs up from their victim, they began to pull in unison. The steady pace they set seemed to take only seconds and forever at the same time. As soon as Pete disappeared inside, a wall of flame blocked their view, but the tell-tale ring of blades slicing fabric and flesh was unmistakable. As were the groans of a man hiding his pain.

Without any warning, the door across the room snapped open. “I got it,” Pete’s ragged voice echoed in the room. “Go!”

Buffy and Giles grabbed Artie, dragging him numbly away as they hurried deeper into the hell-maze. Moments later, the door slammed shut behind them.

++++++++

Ethan laughed so hard he almost choked as the monitor watching Pete blinked into blackness. “And we bid a fond farewell to another ‘friend’.”

“I really want to cause this guy some serious pain right now,” Claudia growled to the girl next to her.

“I know, I know,” Willow whispered back with panic in her voice. “Tell me what will happen if we suddenly pulled the mask off of him.”

The agent nodded understanding, trying to regain her focus on the problem. “Some Artifacts can leave contact wounds. Not that I’m all that worried about maiming him right now. The real problem is that I don’t have any gloves or neutralizer. If we can snag the goods, best case is, breaking his contact might stop what’s going on. Worst case is that the major crazies infect one of us and we send the Bobbsey Twins on our very own little power trip.” She took a breath and sighed. “Then again, you thrown in the whole demon thing, and it’s something that I have no idea… This is new and freaky territory.”

Willow thought for a moment. “It’s probably not going to work, but I’m pretty sure neither of us have as many enemies to get revenge on as Ethan. All we have to figure out is how to get past the Char-Qualkn. Oh, and past Ethan’s own magick, too. Then we can grab the thingies.”

Claudia glanced at one of the large demons snarling at her. “Yeah, piece of cake.”

++++++++

“Arthur,” Giles shook the shorter man by the shoulders. “Come now, we must press on.”

Artie’s hollow eyes suddenly focused to a laser point on the face of the Watcher. “Don’t touch me,” he snarled, jerking away. “Always when you show up. Always! And again I’ve lost all my agents, all my… friends. I should have pulled the trigger the moment I saw you.”

“Hey!” Buffy moved to step in, but was stopped by Giles’ calmly raised hand.

“Perhaps you should have,” he replied softly. “I’m well aware that my presence has never exactly facilitated safety for those around me. A status I know we both share. But we are in this now, and the only way to help anyone is to see it through to the end.” Smiling slightly, he added, “Don’t worry, Arthur. I’m sure you’ll get another chance to kill me before today’s finished.”

“Giles! That’s not funny,” Buffy huffed.

“But it is true,” Artie answered, much more subdued. “As is the fact that he’ll get the same chance. And we both know it.”

She frowned. “The real goal here is to slay those demons. And since I don’t see them in here, that means you’ll need each other to do it. Slay the demons, get Willow and Claudia out of trouble. All in a day’s work.” The Slayer glared back and forth between them. “Anyone confused about this concept?”

“We will do what we need to, Buffy,” Giles tried to sooth her. “You have to understand that it is a bit… disconcerting, to be forced to become an instrument of pain against those you hold dear.”

She gave them a sympathetic sigh. “I know. But the only way to stop it is to end it. So you guys are gonna have to focus on the finish line. Because this next door doesn’t look like much fun either.”

The two men followed her gaze across the room behind them. In front of what could only be the exit stood a huge slab of rough-hewn stone. Large chains at the top connected it to an ancient-looking, rudimentary pulley system. Their eyes followed the rusted chains along the ceiling and down the opposite wall to a wooden contraption with four shackles, one at each corner.

“No!” Giles railed threateningly at the torture device. “I won’t! I can’t!”

“It’s the only way,” Buffy tried to remain reasonable.

“I refuse to strap you onto a rack. This is madness.”

“Hello,” Buffy teased gently. “Welcome to our life.”

“Damn it, Buffy. Don’t you understand?”

The Slayer bit back on another smart remark. Seeing her Watcher this freaked out over her was never easy. “Giles, look at me.” She held him by the upper arms, attempting to ease his panic. “We’ll figure this out. We always do.”

Giles nodded, tears of anger and fear still in his eyes. He pulled the girl to him for a rare, but much needed, hug.

“Buffy, how much do you think you can dead-lift?” Artie glanced back from examining the giant stone.

She tilted her head questioningly before coming to understand. “Oh. I’m not sure. We’ve never really tested my strength to the max.”

“Ever tried anything close to this size?”

“No, but there’s a first time for everything.” Buffy bent to examine the lower edge of the block for hand holds.

“How would making her lift all of that weight be any better than putting her into that device?” Giles grumbled.

“If she can do it, it would give her more control. Instead of stressing her joints by stretching them, she could get into a compact stance and use her skeletal strength as well as muscle.”

“You’re right, of course. But it will be harder to support while trying to balance everything as well. And how long will she have to do that while we attempt to crawl under with her worried about crushing us?”

“Guys! Hold on and let me give it a try,” the Slayer silenced the conversation behind her. “You two can talk it around in circles until forever. Sometimes out here you just have to… Well, kick the damn thing.” She illustrated by turning and kicking the lower edge of the stone as hard as she could. Some crumbled away, but not much. “Damn. I was hoping to make more of an impact, maybe just beat my way through it.”

Giles ran his hand along the jagged surface. “This is a block of granite. Even if we had tools it would take us days.”

“Well, here goes…” Buffy squatted down, but could only get her fingertips into the small cracks. She pushed up with all her strength. The heavy, metamorphic stone shifted, but her precarious grip failed and it slammed back into place. “It was worth a try. Guess this means square one. Time to strap me in.”

“Not necessarily,” Artie walked toward the racking device.

“No more stalling,” the blonde stated, following him. “We’re out of options.”

“There is one more. Put me in it instead.”

“Arthur,” Giles pulled off his glasses. “As much as you tend to bring out an… angrier side of me, you can’t seriously expect us to--”

“I’ve given it thought. If the two of you go on, you’ll have a much better chance of killing the Char-Qualkn and saving both the girls. You have an instinctual bond. You’ll work together much more efficiently, not against each other like a pair of stubborn, old men.”

Giles ran a flustered hand through his unruly hair. “It’s suicidal. You’d be pulled apart in an instant.”

“Maybe. But I know you’ll make sure Claudia is safe.”

The Watcher blinked in surprise, unsure of how to respond to the unexpected show of faith.

Buffy sighed. “Come here,” she told Artie. The agent stepped forward without thinking. With a quick jab, she hit the joint of his left shoulder with only the tip of her thumb. He jerked away, nearly folding over in pain. “You’ve been favoring that shoulder since we met. There’s no possible way you can hold that much weight long enough for us to get through.”

Artie gave her an annoyed glance. “I needed to take a sword away from someone,” he muttered as an explanation.

“The point is, I’m pretty sure this room is meant specifically to take me out of this fight. Pete was right. The goal here is for you two to find who’s behind this and stop them. There’s no more to discuss.”

“Buffy,” Giles murmured.

“No! You are not strapping me into a torture machine. I am going to lift up this door, and I’m ordering the pair of you to crawl your butts under it and kick the hell out of whatever’s on the other side. Is that understood?”

“Yes,” the two men answered in unison, both badly hiding very proud and inspired smiles.

To Giles, she continued in a softer voice, “Willow’s waiting for you. You can’t imagine your life without her… Well, neither can I. Go get our ‘light in the darkness’, Giles.” With a small chuckle, she added, “Then point her at whoever did this to her so she can show them just what kind of fire they’re messing with.”

“I promise she’ll be safe,” her Watcher whispered.

His Slayer lightly placed her hand on his shoulder. “Better if you both are.” Stepping away, she shook herself back into fight mode. “All right. I think we’ll need to make the ankle shackles tight to give me some leverage. Then you can leave the wrists loose and I can hold on to the chains. That way I’ll be able to get out pretty easy.” She stepped into place and turned around, looking at them expectantly.

Slowly, both men knelt before her mostly bare legs and took the shackles in their hands.

“These things are monsters,” Arties whispered. “Just putting them on is going to tear her skin up.”

“I know,” Giles replied with a sour expression. Glancing down at himself, he quickly undid the buttons of the vest to the suit he’d put on for school three days ago. “Here, hold onto this.” Handing one side to Artie, he gave a sharp, hard tug, ripping the material down the back. “Wrap it around her ankle. Hopefully it will give some padding and a bit of protection.”

Each of them made quick work of wrapping Buffy’s leg as if tending to wounds not yet there. They then locked the rough, iron rings into place.

Standing, Giles inspected the chains that hung above her head. “These are going to tear your hands apart.”

“It’s okay,” the Slayer reassured. “I’ve dealt with way worse.”

“Not when you didn’t need to.” Thinking quickly, Giles pulled off his tie and wound it around her wrist and hand. On her other side, Artie pulled a large handkerchief from his pocket and did the same. “How does that feel?” the Watcher asked when they had fitted the shackles as loosely as they dared.

Buffy cocked her eyebrow at him in an expression that plainly said, ‘How do you think, stupid?’

Giles frowned and turned his attention to the man beside him. “We’ll do this as quickly as possible. Crank the stone up only until we can fit under, and crawl as fast as we can so Buffy can let go.”

“I’ll give you guys all I’ve got,” she put in. “But you better move like your asses are on fire. If I can’t hold it, you’ll be crushed.”

Artie looked at the young girl with great respect in his world-weary eyes. “I wouldn’t trust anybody more. Only hold on as long as you can. We’ll get to the other side.”

With a nod of determination from all parties, the men stepped up to the large wheel cranks and began to turn them. Buffy braced herself and gripped the chains tightly. The heavy stone began to rise off the floor. Its massive weight caused the pulleys to groan, the chains to groan, Buffy to groan. The Slayer clenched her jaw and pulled with all her might.

“That it!” Giles shouted. “Move!”

Both men hit the ground hard, their hands and knees scrapping along the ground as they moved with all the speed they could muster. The stone above them caught at their shirts, ripping at both fabric and skin. Giles saw the opening and threw himself at it with everything he had. Spinning on the floor, he grabbed ahold of Artie and pulled him free as well.

“We’re through, Buffy!” he screamed. “Drop it now.” One second passed, then two… To him it felt like an eternity before the stone suddenly fell with a ground-shaking thud. Breathing hard, he sat with his head in his hands. The image of Buffy’s torn and broken body flooding his mind.


	6. In Rusty Armor

6\. In Rusty Armor

Willow squeezed her eyes shut against the image of Buffy’s straining and twisted face. She knew her best friend would give her life to save the world if need be. But not like this, not for her. Her eyes reopened to find Claudia’s. Both of them were thinking the same thing. It was down to two now. The games were over. Giles and Artie were walking into a trap. One that neither of them would survive.

“If we’re going to try, this is it,” the Warehouse agent whispered. “There’s no more time to think about it.”

Willow nodded. “There’s nothing else we can do.”

“Are you set for your side of things?”

“I think so. I’ve never actually tried something like this before. I’m sorry if--”

“Don’t say it,” Claudia hushed her. “We both know this is a stupid thing to do. But it’s the only chance we have if we want to get the guys out of this mess.”

“We have to try. For them.” Willow put on a determined look. “All right. Resolve face in place. Let’s do this.”

The other redhead let a little chuckle escape. She took her younger friend’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “On three,” she whispered. “One… Two… Three!”

Both girls flung themselves forward at the same moment. Willow flew toward the twin demons, shooting sparks from her outstretched hands in an attempt to distract them. Meanwhile, Claudia raced up behind Ethan, hoping to snatch the mask from his face before he could react.

With a raise of the sorcerer’s long fingers, everything was engulfed in a blinding flash. An instant later the room was empty.

++++++++

Artie sprawled on the concrete floor, sucking in oxygen to catch his breath. It took what felt like too long for him to regain his functions and prop himself upright. A few feet away, he could see Giles collapsing into a rocking pile of grief and misery. Artie scooted up beside the other man.

“Rupert?” he whispered cautiously, hovering a hand over his once-friend’s back, but not quite touching him. “She let it drop. Your Slayer is the strongest, bravest young lady I’ve ever seen. I’m sure she’s--”

“Not like this,” the Watcher groaned miserably. “Slayers die. We all know. But they give their lives for innocents, for the world… Not for the likes of me. Not for the mistakes of a foolish, lecherous old pillock.”

Artie signed heavily. “Much as I’d love to agree that you are a pillock, we both know that Willow could throw herself naked at you and you would never touch her. You’re not that kind of man. Loving is not a sin, Rupert. The person using the people we love against us… that’s who we need to be focused on punishing now.”

“Arthur,” Giles said quietly, never glancing over. “I want you to know, I never intended to take Amber from you. I had no idea you felt so deeply…”

“You didn’t take anything. She was as unaware as you were. Even then I wasn’t the greatest at communicating my feelings. How could I blame her for noticing my handsome, young friend?”

“We were friends once, weren’t we? Seems like another lifetime now.”

Artie let a small smile slip. “I never minded going to London on assignment, knowing I’d be stopping by to have lunch or dinner with my friend Rupert. He was the most interesting conversation in Europe.”

“And I always knew you’d have good advice whenever I thought my life wouldn’t amount to anything. Whenever I believed the Council put me in a museum because I belonged on the shelves with all the other useless memories. I remember how you spoke for me to the other Watchers when my probation time was done. It was you who made them accept me back.”

“I only told them that if they couldn’t see you were meant for more, then they were blind, old morons and we could use a man like you over at the Warehouse.”

Giles chuckled, “Always the eloquent speaker.” Ducking his head, he murmured, “It happened after I left her that night. I never thought that we might have been followed. When they told me she was dead, I prayed it was the truth. But she came back, and she found me at the museum… Part of me wanted to let her take me, just so I could be with her forever. But, when I saw the demon, I couldn’t let that thing keep her face. I did what I had to do. That’s when you walked in.”

“My head knew what was going on, but my heart wouldn’t let me accept it. I needed to punish someone for what happened to her. Before I knew it, I was chasing you down the corridor with that… I can’t even remember what it was I grabbed.”

“It was a halberd, fourteenth century Swiss. You don’t soon forget the business end of one of those coming after you.”

“You could have stood your ground, you know.” Artie shook his head ruefully. “You were younger than me, much better trained in combat. You chose to run when you could have easily beaten me.”

Giles smiled sadly. “During my life I had already learned not to underestimate the madness that comes with grief. And I had already lost one person I cared about that night. It was my hope that you wouldn’t be another I had to lose forever.”

The Warehouse agent frowned guiltily. “Maybe not forever. Only twenty years or so.”

Looking him in the eyes, Giles said sincerely, “Thank you. It’s good to have your forgiveness. One less thing to regret.”

“Yes… for me, too.”

“We’re both going to die tonight.”

“I know that,” Artie nodded. “But we’re going to make sure we’re the only ones. And we’re going to take those demons with us.”

To seal the deal, they grasped each other’s hands and shook.

“Now,” Giles cleared his throat as he stood. “Let’s go get Willow.”

“And Claudia,” Artie agreed, rising beside him.

The two men looked around the room that they had tumbled into for the first time. This one did not have the medieval feel of the others. It was more run down industrial. There was a grating to one side that led into pitch dark. About five feet up, at either side of that doorway, some naked wiring stuck out of large industrial conduits which continued on around both sides of the room. Directly opposite the exit they entered a huge power box with a throw switch. A sign proclaiming, Warning High Voltage, was clearly only there to tease.

Both men stepped towards the exit at once.

“It’s clear what has to happen here,” Giles sighed.

“Yes, even to an idiot like you,” Artie grouched, retuning instantly to their antagonistic rivalry. “That’s why I’m going this way, and you’re going that way.”

“Don’t be such a fool, Arthur. You don’t want to have to do this anymore than I do.”

“Then stop fighting me,” the agent huffed, exasperated. “We both have to get through that door. There’s no other way to open it. This we know from agonizing experience. This whole process is going to be painful, for both for us. So let’s stop arguing and just get the damn thing over with.”

Giles sighed and gestured his friend onward. He gallantly fought to hide his smile when Artie stretched his arms out, but could barely touch the wiring with his fingertips. 

With a sour frown, the Warehouse agent stalked back across the room. “Not one damn word.”

“Come now, Arthur,” the Watcher strode past him. “We both know you’ve always wanted to send fifty-thousand volts coursing through me.” Standing in the doorway, he took his handkerchief from his pocket and gave his glasses a steady, thorough polish. He then folded the cloth into a thick rectangular pad. 

“I’ve wanted to do a lot of things to you over the years,” Artie stood next to the power box. “It doesn’t mean I ever really had it in me to pull the switch. We don’t even know how much voltage this is going to send out.”

“What we do know is that they are not quite ready to kill me, yet. That would be too simple. You know what you’re going to have to do, right?” Artie nodded. Giles looked straight into his eyes. “If I am wrong about this, and I don’t make it… Please promise you’ll save--”

“I’ll get them both out,” the older man answered solemnly. “I swear to you, if it’s the last thing I do.”

The Watcher placed his handkerchief between his teeth and bit down. Having at least five inches of height on the other man, he held out his correspondingly wider arm span and grasped the soon to be live wires. He then took a wide stance and braced himself. On a nod from Giles, Artie took a deep breath and pulled the toggle. 

The voltage buzzed noisily as it ran though the Watcher’s body, all of his muscles tensing at once. Less than a heartbeat after sending the electricity, Artie shifted his weight and began to move. He ran across the room as fast as he could, building up momentum, and hurled himself straight into Giles’ chest. The massive force was enough to rip him free, and both men went flying through the opened grate to land in a tangled heap on the other side.

Artie scrambled to his knees and began checking the still body beneath him for vital signs. He brushed the singed and smoking cloth from the slack jaw. There was no breath. The pulse was very faint. He pounded his fists down on Giles’ chest, attempting to beat the life back into him.

“Come on you know-it-all bastard,” he growled. “Don’t you dare make me put my lips anywhere near you!”

With another thump, Giles gasped in a deep breath and began to cough. Slumping back, Artie sighed in relief.

The Watcher rolled his head toward the other man. “Told you,” he choked out roughly.

“Why you son of a…” Artie chuckled in relief and reached out his left hand to catch hold of Giles’ right as they began to help each other stagger to their feet. Before they could get half way up, a set of shackles blinked into existence, binding them together with about two feet of sturdy chain.

They had to shield their eyes when fire erupted all around them, flooding the dark room with light and heat. They stood at the center of the room. Behind them a pit of fire burned where a wall had just been. In front of them two more pits disappeared into burning depths. Above each of these hung a cage, swinging precariously from the high ceiling.

“Giles,” Willow yelled from the cage on the left.

From the right, Claudia’s voice rang out with Artie’s name.

“It’ll be all right. We’re here,” the Watcher tried to sound reassuring.

“You don’t understand,” Willow called out in warning. “It’s--”

A large stone pillar rose up between the captives with a throne at its peak. Lounging atop it was the lean form of a man. He held a long, staff-like scepter, and the mask covering his eyes had grown into a dark and twisted crown that circled his head. He laughed with great and frightening joy.

Even with the changes, Giles recognized him immediately. “Ethan,” the Watcher growled. “Stop this now or so help me I will finish what I started last time I told you to leave town.”

“Giles! It’s not him,” Willow finished.

“The guy’s whammied, Artie,” Claudia yelled. “Like total Lucrezia Borgia style, kill all who ever wronged you. Whoever this guy was, he’s not at home anymore.”

It was only after these warnings that the two men saw the red fire raging in Ethan’s eyes. “And here we are again.” The madman’s deep voice was silky smooth. “Old friends and new. Pasts and futures. Those once loved and those that still may be.”

“Ethan,” Giles tried again carefully. “We’re here now. You have us to do with as you please. These young ladies have never wronged you. Let them go and take your vengeance on us.”

“Never wronged me?” Ethan spat. “They now possess all I lost.”

“No, they don’t…”

“I remember you,” Artie spoke up when Giles faltered. “You came looking for Rupert a couple times. You wanted to drag him back into the dark with you. I refused to let you do that. I advised him never to see you again. I ran you off.”

“He belonged with me,” Ethan fumed. “We were a matched set. We were power. We were chaos. We were gods.”

“No, Ethan,” Giles answered. “We were dangerous. To ourselves and everyone around us.”

“The weak! The weak are meant to burn. Now you are as weak as the rest. And soon you too will burn.”

Both girls’ eyes went wide. Their friends stood before them, putting on the strongest faces possible. But they could see though all of it. They’ve always been able to. Giles and Artie sagged as they stood there, their torn and scorched shirts hanging from equally torn and scorched frames. Their hair was matted with sweat and mussed into odd peaks. They slumped with weariness that ran bone deep. In short, they looked like they’d already come through hell. Tears welled up in Willows eyes while Claudia chose to hold onto anger instead.

“You’re right, Ethan,” Giles sighed. “We are nothing but weak, mortal men. If we were any better, maybe these innocent girls wouldn’t be here. But they are, and we willingly accept punishment for that.”

“No, Giles,” Willow cried.

“I only ask that when this is done, you let them both return to the lives they deserve.”

“Ohh. Is that begging I hear?” Ethan teased.

“If it will get them out of here…” Artie spoke up. “Yes, we’re begging you.”

“My, my,” the sorcerer placed his hand on his chest. “I think you’ve touch my heart.” He grinned widely and blew out a large fire ball. “Oh no, it was only a bit of heartburn.” The dark laughter returned.

“Ethan,” Giles raged. “Stop this at once or I’ll…!”

“You’ll what?! Pummel me? Throttle me? Get down on your knees and give me all I’ve ever desired?”

“Sick bastard,” Artie growled.

“And you,” Ethan’s eyes blazed at Artie. “What do you offer me?”

The Warehouse agent thought for a moment, trying to control his rage. He looked up steadily and stated in an eerily calm, even tone. “I offer you his head.”

“Artie! What are you doing?” Claudia screeched, shaking against the bars that held her.

“Finally, we find something of worth.”

“I know you don’t like him very much,” Claudia continued. “But this isn’t you, Artie. You’re not a murderer.”

Artie gazed up at the girl, his eyes hard with determination. “You don’t know that. You know nothing of who I am.”

Claudia froze, stunned by the harsh tone he used.

The chuckling from the throne grew. “And you, Ripper? Will you trade one life for another?” Giles growled deep in his throat. “Of course. We all know that being a killer is very much part of your nature.”

“It is not, you liar,” Willow shouted angrily. “Giles is the kindest, sweetest man--”

“Just start the damned trial,” Giles interrupted. “If it’s blood you want, you’ll have it.”

“Yes, I will,” Ethan hissed. “The game is this. On one side,” he gestured past Willow, “We have the key to save Ripper’s princess.” A large locking mechanism appeared in the wall with a heavy, archaic key protruding from it. “On the other, the key to free Arthur’s princess.”

“Oh, you did not just call me a princess,” Claudia snapped at her captor. 

“Quite simply, the first one to turn their key… wins.”

“How do we know you’ll keep your word?” Artie asked.

Ethan chuckled. “The rules of this game aren’t set by me. It is the Char-Qualkn way to set the victor’s treasure free.”

“And what of the other?” Giles rumbled.

“Ah. She will be my prize. And you can rest assured that she will blossom at my side.” The tone of his words sent shivers up everyone’s spines.

“What about them?” Willow asked.

“I’m sure we all know what these men would give for you, my dearest. And, when the loser has fallen, and we have our champion… My demons are hungry.”

“No!” both girls shouted together.

“We agree!” Giles and Artie stated.

“Then let the final trial begin.” On the sorcerer’s pronouncement, a short sword appeared in the free hand of each man. They turned toward each other, gripping the chain binding them together. Just before the first blow fell, Ethan sighed, “No, no, no… Ripper fancies himself noble. He would be foolish enough to sever his own hand if he thought he could save both and cheat me from my prize.” The swords were instantly replaced with clubs. “Much better.”

Artie struck first, but Giles was able to block. The Watcher frowned regretfully. “I can’t let Ethan have Willow.”

“And leave Claudia in the hands of a madman?” Artie responded, attacking again.

The blow was vicious, plowing into Giles' ribs and knocking him breathless. It only took him a moment to respond with a volley of his own, forcing Artie dangerously close to the edge of a pit. But a yank on the chain surprised him, and both had to wheel back in order to regain their balance. 

After that, the blows fell fast and hard. Willow and Claudia didn’t want to watch, but couldn’t look away. They were trapped with a view of the last moments of their mentors, friends… the men they cherished. Tears escaped as they heard bones snap, flesh crumple, and blood splatter.

The men were slowing, completely exhausted from everything they’d been through. But neither would back down. They traded strikes… slow, shaky, yet still bone-crushing. It looked as if the next blow could end it at any moment.

Hungry, the Char-Qualkn became visible. They danced teasingly around the combatants, snarling and drooling, anticipating the coming feast. Moving swiftly in opposite directions, their paths crisscrossed here and there.

Waiting for one such crossing, Artie and Giles moved as one. When the demons neared each other, they rose up and swung their clubs together, in on the masked heads. The demons screamed as the thick wooden weapons smashed into their heads, causing them to careen into each other with skull smashing force. A blood-curdling screech echoed around the room as both Char-Qualkn convulsed in pain, then were engulfed in red flames. They were nothing but ash.

At the same moment, the shackles binding Artie and Giles vanished, and the dungeon turned into the run-down back room of an abandoned funhouse. The two men collapsed to the floor in exhaustion.

The cages gone, Willow and Claudia ran to their champions.

“Oh my god, Artie!” Claudia flung her arms around her old man. “That was so totally badass!”

“Please,” Artie gasped. “Gently. In pain here.”

She sat back to look at him and smiled adoringly. “My knight in shining armor.”

The senior agent chuckled carefully, and placed his fingers against her cheek to make sure she was real and safe. “More like rusty armor,” he murmured.

“Giles, are you alright?” Willow knelt down beside the Watcher, tenderly checking him for any life-threatening injuries.

He gingerly took her hand. “As long as you’re safe.”

The young witch ducked her head shyly. “I always feel safe with you around.”

Lifting her chin to see her eyes, he said, “Willow, I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am. If it wasn’t for my feelings--”

Willow lunged forward impulsively, wrapping her arms around his neck and cutting him off. “I love you, too, Giles,” she whispered in his ear. “I’ve always known you cared so much about all of us.” She pulled back to look into his eyes. “If you didn’t love me so much, I wouldn’t be able to do any of this.”

It was Giles’ turn to duck his head at her overwhelming understanding and forgiveness.

“How did you guys know what to do?” Claudia couldn’t help asking.

Willow grinned, answering for them, “Research.”

An agonized groan from across the room gained everyone’s attention. Ethan was balled on the floor holding his face. His mask-crown and scepter had disintegrated into flames along with the Char-Qualkn.

The two girls carefully braced the men as they all limped to his side.

“Ethan, give me one good reason…” Giles griped as he knelt beside his past.

“Ripper, is that you?” The sorcerer took his hands from his face, turning his head in frightened jerks. His face was scorched from the flames, and his eyes were covered in a milky-white film. “I can’t see anything.”

“Bloody hell, man,” Giles sighed. He sat beside his stricken enemy and placed a hand on his shoulder so he could feel that he wasn’t alone. “Didn’t you even do the bookwork before using those things?”

Ethan looked confused for several moments before deciding on what must have happened. “I did look up references. I thought I was strong enough to control simple demons.”

“Only you weren’t dealing with normal talismans,” Willow said.

“I…” Ethan shook his head as if to clear it, “I can’t remember anything after slipping the mask on.”

“Told you,” Claudia said thoughtfully. “Classic big-time whammy.”

“Where did you get the Artifacts?” Artie barked, in too much pain to muster any sympathy.

“Artifacts, of course,” the sorcerer groaned. “They… they were sent to me.”

“From?” the agent prompted.

“No return address. But there was a note.” He blindly patted at his pockets and pulled out a scrap of paper.

Artie snatched it from him and began to read through his cracked glasses. “I heard you like toys. Here are some that might help punish a few who wronged you in the past. Enjoy… From a brother in loss and chaos, M.” The senior agent sat down hard, cradling his forehead in his hand.

Claudia shook her head slowly. “Please tell me that’s not the M I think it is.”

“McPherson must have sent it off before he died. He knew that Mr. Rayne here was likely to target Rupert and that…”

“You would come chasing the Artifact while we followed the demons,” Giles finished.

With a loud bang, the door burst in. Those in the room looked up, unphased. Buffy tumbled in, followed by Pete, Xander, and Myka. They were bandaged up, but no one appeared to be exceedingly damaged.

Willow jumped up to hug Buffy and Xander, while Claudia met Pete and Myka.

“Who do I kill?” Buffy growled.

“It’s all right,” chuckled Willow. “Our heroes already took care of it.” She gestured to the men on the floor.

The Slayer stepped forward. “Ethan Rayne. I should have known.”

“Calm down, Buffy,” Giles sighed heavily. “This time it’s only slightly Ethan’s fault.”

Ethan cocked his head up with a slight smirk. “You wouldn’t hit a blind man, would you, Slayer?”

“I could make an exception.”

Xander glanced over all of the older men before him. He frowned, pulling up on the sleeves of Giles’ oversized jacket. “Looks like we’re gonna get the group rate at the hospital again.”

“Are you okay, Artie,” Myka squatted down to look him over with her usual concern.

“Just a little tenderized. Rupert has forgotten how to pull his punches.”

Giles laugh, but clutched at his ribs when the shaking hurt too much. “Seemed to me like you were working through some aggression issues yourself.”

Pete pointed between the two men. “Okay, did something happen with those two that we missed? Because last I knew they weren’t on joking around terms.”

Artie shrugged. “Crisis brings out truth…”

“…And truth, forgiveness,” Giles finished.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Oh that’s not gonna be annoying. Come on. Let’s get these guys out of here.”

++++++++

“I gave you my number, right?” Claudia asked Willow again. “We’ve gotta keep in touch. BFF’s from now on.”

“And email,” the other redhead nodded. “You guys are my first call if any more demon clowns show up.”

Both Xander and Pete shivered at the thought.

“It was very nice to meet all of you,” Myka presented her hand to Giles and Buffy. “I know we’re not supposed to worry about vampires and magick. With you guys on the case, I don’t think we have to.”

“That’s very nice of you to say,” Buffy smiled. “You guys are pretty cool, too.”

“Arthur!”

Everyone jumped around and stared wide-eyed at the intimidating woman who had appeared out of nowhere.

Artie grabbed at his chest with the arm not in a sling. “Mrs. Frederic,” he gasped.

“Leena said you haven’t been in contact. She was worried.”

“Yes, um, we had a slight problem with the retrieval. But everything has been resolved now.”

“You were successful?”

“The Artifact’s been destroyed,” Myka jumped in.

“And these civilians?”

All the Warehouse agents opened their mouths, searching for an answer. Before they came up with one, Giles stepped forward. “Irene,” he said in a sure voice.

Her agents watched in astonishment as their mysterious and all-too serious boss actually smiled. “Rupert Giles,” she replied, her voice softening.

“I’m sorry I lost touch. My new assignment took precedence over everything else.”

“As it should, Watcher to the Slayer herself.” She turned her smile to Buffy.

Giles shook his head. “You knew.”

“Well, who do you think made Valda cast the deciding vote in your favor? The Council was so busy looking for the best man for the job, they almost overlooked the right man.”

“Thank you. I was afraid you’d thought I turned down the Regent position on purpose.”

“Rupert, there are some who can only lead from the front lines. You would have been wasted.”

Pete leaned over to Artie and Myka and whispered, “Does anyone know what the hell is going on here?”

Artie gave a long-suffering sigh. “I know you’ve wondered if Mrs. Frederic has a type, Pete. He is definitely it.”

“Agent Lattimer.” Pete jumped at the sound of the Caretaker’s, once again, demanding voice. “Now that the situation here is resolved, you and Agent Bering should be on your way to Berlin. Here is your new case file.” When she held out the file, Pete stepped forward and took it carefully, as if afraid of being bitten. “And you, Miss Donavan, should be headed back to the Warehouse.”

“Something new you need me to get on?” Claudia asked excitedly.

“Yes,” the intimidating woman turned a frown on Artie. “Put Agent Nielsen to bed. He looks horrendous.”

“Why thank you very much,” Artie grumped, scratching at some of his bandages.

“I’ll tuck him in and get started on some chicken soup,” the young woman teased him.

“And what of him,” she had noticed the bandaged Ethan Rayne attempting to be inconspicuous.

Artie cleared his throat. “I was going to work on sending him back to where he belongs.”

“Ah, in that case, I can handle him, Arthur.” Ethan shrank even smaller.

“Irene,” Giles stepped closer to the woman as final goodbyes were exchange by the others. “Thank you again for watching over me all those years. Although there were some I regretted leaving behind, I believe I am where I belong.”

She brushed her hand against his. “Who says I ever stopped watching over you, Rupert.” Giles glanced back at his students for an instant and she was gone. So was Ethan.

When the Scooby Gang was once more alone in their library, Xander couldn’t help teasing, “Big G the ladies’ man, huh?”

“I did have a life before all of you,” the Watcher defended testily. “Once upon a time I was thought by some to be quite handsome.”

Buffy made a gagging noise and giggled with Xander.

“That’s it,” Giles huffed. “Anyone still here in,” he looked at his watch, “one minute will be helping me research medieval blood rites of the pixie nation.” As expected, two blurs shot past him and disappeared.

Willow stopped next to him. “There are still some who think you’re very handsome, Giles. And you’ll always be my hero,” she whispered, rising up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. Giggling at his deep blush, she continued on her way.


End file.
